Executive Committee: Chair

Inez Romaguera is the President of Strategic Benefits, an Employee Benefits Brokerage firm that provides services to corporations and employer groups.

She has been in the Employee Benefits field for over 17 years and she consults regularly with executives from a variety of fields to help in the strategic planning and development of their Employee Benefits Programs. Prior to her current position, she was a broker with a large regional insurance agency for 8 years and prior to that; she was a Key Account Executive with Prudential and Aetna Healthcare for 6 years, where she worked with large local and national employers.

Inez’s specialty is advising and working with employers with benefits plan design, health care data analysis, management and marketing of insurance programs.

Inez graduated from Miami Dade College and attended F.A.U. where she obtained her Human Resources Certification. She is also working on her Certification for Employee Benefits designation at Barry University.

She has been married for the last 18 years and has three children and has been a resident of Pembroke Pines for the last 18 years.

Inez currently serves as the Chair of the Broward County Diversity Advisory Council, she is also Corporate Partner Co-Chair for the National Association of Women Business Owners Fort Lauderdale Chapter, she is the Challenges and Ethics Coordinator for BNI West Execs in Doral, and a proud member of 6 Degrees/Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County.

Executive Committee: Treasurer

Executive Committee: Secretary

Leilani Smith-Tellez  has a wide range of cultural diversity and educational experience. Appointed by Commissioner Stacy Ritter, Smith-Tellez is a co-author of Super Parenting Child Rearing for the New Millennium, a founding director of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, and co-founder of the Vanguard of the Dawning Conference, which is devoted to empowering minorities through educational activities and international service projects.

Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, Smith-Tellez has lived in Portugal and Israel, traveled and lectured widely in the Americas, Africa, Europe and the South Pacific. She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and on radio and television in the United States and Africa. A native of Chicago, Illinois, Smith-Tellez earned her B.A. in English Literature from Illinois Wesleyan University and M.A. in Tourism and Special Event Management from Canterbury University, United Kingdom. She is currently teaching adults with disabilities and English as a Second Language for the Broward County School Board and is a Real Estate Sales Associate in Florida. Smith-Tellez has lived in Coral Springs for more than 10 years where she was named 2007 Volunteer of the Year for the Martin Luther King Committee and serves as vice chair and chair-elect for the 2009 celebration.

MEMBERS

Andy Ansola
While Eisenhower was playing golf in Mexico and the world had its eyes set on the Civil Rights movement, Andy Ansola was born on a J’Ouvert morning in Trinidad and Tobago on a leap year day. From a humble birth to a humble upbringing, he has become a mover and shaker in the South Florida region.

At the tender age of 14 while living in Trinidad and Tobago, his leadership skills sprung into action and he formed Y.O.U.T.H. (Young Organization of United teenagers from Hickling Village). Under his leadership YOUTH performed plays directed by Ansola and hosted an annual sports meeting for the next three years during the Easter holidays. The event came to an abrupt end when at the age of 17 he left for the “bright lights’ of the City of San Fernando.

Ansola became a police officer at the age of 19 and once again his leadership skills and desire to help the underprivileged gained him early recognition. He first traveled to Miami in 1984 and then returned to Brooklyn, New York, in 1989 to further his education. In 1992 he relocated to Hollywood, Florida, and returned to school in 1996 as an adult learner. At St. Thomas University, he graduated valedictorian in the class of 2000 with a triple major. This is the first in the history of St. Thomas University and has never been duplicated.

Ansola has more than 10 years experience in the human services field with a concentration on marriage and family therapy, thanatology (grief, loss and healing), mental health, social services, program development, crisis counseling, disaster management, and event planning.

Ansola has a masters of science degree in marriage and family therapy and a certifications in anger management, grief and loss, train the trainer in diversity, and train the trainer in disaster management. He began his doctoral work in marriage and family therapy at Nova Southeastern University in 2003. He has undertaken a clinical project where he developed a model of grief and loss for minority families but has taken some time off since 2005.

Ansola is well-known in the human services field and academia by all levels of government, the media, public schools, and social service agencies. He is entrenched in the South Florida community as a member of the Broward County Diversity Advisory Board, the Broward County Nutrition Task Force, past member of the City of Hollywood Education Advisory Board, member of the City of Hollywood African Advisory Council, the chairperson of Volunteers for Fort Lauderdale Sister City, a member of the Million Meals Committee, the president of Broward Caribbean Carnival Inc., the chair of the Diaspora of Trinidad and Tobago, the president of Sesame Flyers of South Florida Inc., the president of N.I.C.E. (National Intercity Cultural Exposition) member of 50th Anniversary Planning Committee for the City of Lauderhill, board member of TATTI Inc., member of the City of Lauderhill Sister Cities Committee, sits on many other boards and has received numerous awards.

Ansola is a Christian and confronts his challenges with spiritual guidance at the helm. He has been married to his wife, Karen, for 15 years. He has seven children and two grandsons, four sisters, many nieces, nephews, cousins, and hundreds of close associates. Ansola loves all sports and feels at times that he could have made it to the NBA. He is an unpublished author, poet, and a general all-rounder. Ansola has done almost everything from delivering newspapers, to painting houses, to cab driving, to cooking, to cleaning floors-you name it.

Ansola sets high goals and standards for himself and those that he leads.  He is one of the most prominent leaders in the Caribbean/African American community, and a shaker and mover. If it addresses community, youth, the underprivileged, culture, injustice, and economic empowerment you can count on Ansola to join your team and make it happen. He can “hit the ground running by any means necessary,” which is one of his favorite lines.

Favorite quote
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere.”
Martin Luther King Jr.

Michael Everett 

Al Otero has successfully promoted international trade in South Florida and abroad through a series of conferences, trade shows, seminars and trade missions. He has built strong strategic alliances with trade, business leaders and organizations in the US and abroad. From seminars, conferences ribbon cutting ceremonies and grand openings, to meetings with high-level government officials and international events. He has established a solid foundation to build a highly successful global organization to serve the international trade needs of the world business community and is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for his service to the business community.

Al Otero has many years experience in sales, marketing, business development, management and ownership of small businesses. Al has over 15 years experience in the development and operations of Chambers of Commerce, as International Chair of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber, as Vice Chair of The International Business Council of Florida, and Chairman of the Bolivian Business Council. Al has served on the Boards of the World Trade Center Ft. Lauderdale, the Florida Foreign Trade Association; He was the founding President of the South Florida Chamber of Commerce, Executive Director of the Broward County Chamber of Commerce, and the Lauderhill Regional Chamber of Commerce. Al was also an active member of Sister Cities International and serves on the Broward County Diversity Advisory Council.

Recognitions:

• Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of Broward County “Hispanic Business Leaders Award”
• Broward County, Florida Hispanic Bar Association - Hispanic Leader Award
• Portada Magazine “Business Organization Empowering Hispanics in South Florida” Leadership Award
• Empresarios Magazine “South Florida Hispanic Business Organization Leaders”
• In Focus Magazine “Executive Champion of the Year Award”
• In Focus Magazine “Multi Cultural Organizational Leadership Award”
• Melgar, Colombia “Key to the City” for bringing the first U.S. tourism mission to the city
• Carmen de Apicala, Colombia “Key to the City” for bringing the first U.S. tourism mission to the city
• In Focus Magazine “Hispanic Achievers Award”
• Ms. Latina International Pageant “Man of the Year”
• Cronos Magazine “Movers and Shakers” Hispanic Community in Broward
• Greater Ft. Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau & Cronos Magazine
• “Top Hispanic Leaders in Broward County”

Abraham Rashid has been living in Cooper City for nine years, and a total of 29 in South Florida. He is 51 years old, married for 15 years with two children, ages 14 and 9, and both are attending public schools.

He currently is working as a Controller/Accountant for a large entertainment facility and speaks 5 languages. Rashid has a bachelor's degree in hospitality management from Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale.

Sam Subramani, an Indo-American was born in Guyana and lived in New York for about 20 years before relocating to South Florida more than 17 years ago. He is a supervisor with the Florida Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole Services and a part-time college instructor.

In addition, he has a weekly radio show, The Indo-Caribbean Showcase, that is aired on WHSR-980AM every Sunday from 6 to 8 p.m. As president of Anna Devi Promotions, he promotes multicultural and East Indian cultural programs free to the community. He has been an active member of the Advisory Council since 1993.