Celia Gonzales Torres, the daughter of Los Angeles garment industry workers who helped found the National Network of Hispanic Women to mentor professional women in leadership roles, as well as aspiring young professionals, died of lung cancer Aug. 19 at her home in Solvang, Calif. She was 68.
Also a well-known philanthropist, Ms. Torres helped launch and support scholarship programs at her alma mater, Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles and at Loyola Marymount University, where she co-founded the Mexican American Alumni Association scholarship program in 1981.
At its height, the National Network of Hispanic Women, founded in the early 1980s, had chapters in five cities. Members included executive women from large corporations, as well as entrepreneurs.
“There was no national group dedicated to breaking through the glass ceiling for professional women in those years,” said Mary Salinas Duron, a senior vice president at Countrywide Home Loans.
Ms. Torres funded the salary for the network’s first executive director and supplied office space.
