Prior to the onset of the Salvadoran Civil War, she immigrated to the United States and began a new career in academics in the field of Spanish language and Latin American literature.
She published several books, wrote many scholarly papers, and delivered numerous presentations about 20th century Latin American writers.
Toruño-Haensly attended high school at Colegio Santa Inés from which she received her teaching certification.
When Toruño-Haensly learned that she was on a death list, she decided to leave El Salvador for the safety of herself and her two sons.
This fellowship was awarded for post-doctoral multidisciplinary research combining Latin American literature and philosophy.
Toruño-Haensly's scholarly interest in Latin American literature began earlier while she was studying philosophy at the Catholic University of Louvain.
In fall 1989, she was invited to deliver seminars on Latin American literature and culture at the Collegium Pro America Latina at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.
Toruño-Haensly did groundbreaking work on the writings of Elena Garro, who is now recognized as one of the leading 20th century women writers in Mexico.
She also became a Fellow in the Kathlyn Cosper Dunagan Professorship in Humanities in 2000 and held this fellowship until she retired in August 2013.
Highlights of her career while at UTPB include a stint as a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Latin American Studies at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, in summer 2002, as well as active participation in the Academia Norteamérica de la Lengua Española (ANLE), the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), and the Modern Language Association (MLA).
Toruño-Haensly published two books about the writings of her father, who was a prominent poet, author, and journalist in Central America: Juan Felipe Toruño in Two Worlds; Critical Analysis of his Works (2006) and a critical edition of the novel El Silencio, by Juan Felipe Toruño, that Toruño-Haensly co-edited with Ardis Nelson (2010).
Toruño-Haensly strived to promote the writings of other Latin American and Mexican-American authors in her books, A viva voz: Las escritoras y escritores latinos hablan de sus vidas y obras (In Their Own Voices: Latino Writers Talk About Their Lives and Works, published in 2009);, Cruzando culturas: Autores hispanos en los Estados Unidos y sus desafíos superados (Crossing Cultures; Hispanic Authors in the United States and the Challenges They Overcame, published in 2011); and Voces de Escritores Latinoamericanos.
Análisis critico de sus obras (Voices of Latin American Writers; Critical Analysis of Their Works, published in 2015).
She gave numerous presentations at academic conferences in the U.S., Mexico, Argentina, France, Costa Rica, Columbia, Ecuador, Panama, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
She was especially proud of her course in Hispanic children's literature that she developed for graduate students who were planning to teach at primary schools.
Toruño-Haensly's teaching has been recognized by nomination many times for the President's or Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Teacher at UTPB.
In 2015, her recognition culminated with the award by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) for Best Hispanic Educator in Odessa.
One of her most outstanding contributions was to found the Odessa-Midland Spanish Literary Club shortly after arriving in Odessa.
In addition, Toruño-Haensly is listed in Marquis Who's Who in America, 21st Century Edition; The Chronicle of Human Achievement, 2001-2008; Who's Who in the World (2004 through 2009); and the International Who's Who of Professional & Business Women, 7th Ed.
In June 2005, they were married at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Odessa, Texas, where she served as a Eucharistic Minister.
She wrote two more scholarly papers and delivered two more presentations at conferences (“Elena Garro fue pionera del realismo mágico, activista política y defensora de los campesinos [Elena Garro was a pioneer in magical realism, political activist, and defender of the peasants],” at the First Symposium on Garro, sponsored by Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México, 24-26 Sept. 2014; and “Rubén Darío: Luminosidad de nuestra lengua y critico del intervencionismo americano en Nicaragua [Rubén Darío: luminary of our language and critic of American intervention in Nicaragua],” presented at the International Symposium on Rubén Darío at the Centennial of His Death sponsored by Movimiento Mundial Dariano in Miami, Florida, 6-13 Feb. 2016).