Anthony Torres, Jr., Executive Director/Writer/Performer for The Combat Hippies, was born in Brooklyn and raised in Utica, New York. He began his military career as a Civil Affairs Specialist in the Army Reserve from 1999-2002, then on active duty as a mental health specialist at Fort Hood, Texas from 2002-2006. In 2004 he was attached to the 115th Field Hospital and served on a 12-month deployment to Abu Ghraib Prison, Iraq. While deployed, he provided mental health treatment to both U.S. troops as well as Iraqi detainees. Following an honorable discharge he relocated to Miami, Florida and worked as a psychology technician at the Miami VA Medical Center from 2008-2013. He holds a MS in Psychology from Carlos Albizu University and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Barry University.

Attached is a video about the Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellows of 2021 – 2022, featuring Anthony!

We are so very proud of Anthony’s accomplishments and are lucky to call him a Young Scholars LPP ’99 Alum