Sheila Ali is the Director of the IFCI, Curator, an Art and DIY tech instructor. Sheila holds a PA Teaching Certificate for Visual Art (K-12), a BA from Brandeis University, and an MFA in Visual Art from Vermont College. For over thirty years she has worked both as a teacher and education coordinator in places such as the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Spring Valley High School in Las Vegas and the University of Pittsburgh. Her artwork and films have been shown at the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Las Vegas Museum of Modern Art, the Three Rivers Film Festival, and many other venues. Sheila has received over 25 grants for her educational programming such as from the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Penn Avenue Arts Initiative and Artists in the Cities, the Grable Foundation, the Pittsburgh Foundation, the Sprout Fund, the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum, the Makeshop Maker Micro grant program, the Allegheny Arts Revival Grant, PNC Charitable Trust, and the Boye Foundation. Awards include: Hive Sprout Fund Learning Digital Badge for innovative teaching, Making Sparks awarded by Sprout, National Congressional Recognition for Outstanding Teaching in the Arts, Las Vegas, and the John Hopkins Literary Award. In 2023, she was the recipient of the Aggie Award, honoring her excellence in community activism in Pittsburgh, from the BGC. Sheila has previously published 2 editions of Girl’s Life Magazine and Pittsburgh By Pittsburgh Artists.