IFE-ILE's staff & board

Neri Torres is the founder, executive and artistic director of IFE-ILE. Born in Havana, Cuba, Neri arrived to the USA in 1991 and turned her passion for dance into a successful career spanning more than twenty years.

Her training includes ballet, modern, Afro-Cuban, Latin dance, Yoga, Contact Improvisation and Alexander Technique. Torres studied contemporary dance at Havana's Instituto Superior de Artes and holds and MFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a minor in film.

She toured with and was the principal dancer and choreographer for Gloria Estefan.

Neri has performed for numerous national and international events including the Super Bowl, the Latin Grammies and the Latin Billboard Awards as part of Gloria Estefan's Evolution World Tour and The Millenium Tour.

As an actress and personality, Neri has worked in the movies For Love or Country with Andy Garcia and Charles Dutton, El Florida directed by Bill Tek and The Lost City directed by Andy Garcia which she also choreographed.

Neri was honored at the Council's Star Gala in Hallandale Beach, Florida, for her accomplishments as a choreographer and for her leadership, vision and enrichment of the South Florida community. Awardees are prominent and influential figures in the South Florida film, recording and entertainment industry.

As a leader in Miami's arts and community culture, Neri has received various awards including a Proclamation by the City of Miami and a Fellowship, a Certificate of Artistic Merit and State of Florida Folk Heritage Award from the State of Florida. Read more about Neri.

Neri Torres with Celia Cruz at the CBS Release party for Gloria Estefan's album Alma Caribena. Neri Torres choreographed the album's song No me Dejes de Querer, which earned a Grammy award.

IFE-ILE's Board of Directors

KAMEELAH BENJAMIN-FULLER, Professional Actress & Poet
Actor and poet Kameelah Benjamin-Fuller is a graduate of Florida International University's African New World Studies, where her Master's thesis focused on Afro-Cuban artists in Miami. Kameelah's fascination with exploring dynamics of race and gender through the visual and performing arts is rooted in her family heritage as a first generation Afro-Caribbean American. Kameelah's training in race, gender and sexuality studies at Cornell University, where she earned a B.A., complements her professional background-having worked in prisons, major corporations and community-based organizations. At FIU she was also assistant director of university's Intercultural American Dance and Music Institute (INDAMI). Kameelah is a former performer and stage manager for IFE-ILE.

AILEEN OCHOA
Aileen Ochoa has over 15 years of professional public relations, media relations, consulting and management experience. She is also an expert in event planning, information fairs and event productions.

GILBERT SQUIRES, P.L., Attorney
Gilbert Squires a Counsel to the Law Offices of Steinberg & Associates, P.A., in Miami Beach. Along with his background in entertainment, technology and trade law, he has extensive experience in corporate law and commercial transactions. He is an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and is the former President of Conoco Mexico, Ltd. He is licensed to practice Law in Florida and The District of Columbia.