Ilona was born in Philadelphia, PA but proudly claims her roots and upbringing in Deerfield Beach, Florida. She is a graduate of Deerfield Beach High School (Home of the Bucks). She received her B.A. degree from Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton, Florida. She attended law school at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Texas Southern University in Houston, TX.
Ilona serves on the ministerial staff at The Faith Center (TFC) in Sunrise, Florida where her pastor is Bishop Henry B. Fernandez. Since 1997, she has served as the Pastoral Care Director at TFC.
Ilona is very active in her community and has received several notable awards. In 2011 she was recognized by Legacy Magazine as one of the 50 most powerful Black people in South Florida. In 2014 she was recognized by the Daily Business Review as one of the Top 20 Women in the Law in South Florida. In August of 2015 her name was placed on the “Wall of Fame” at Deerfield Beach High School.
Ilona loves God, her family and the law (and in that order). Humor, laughter and much prayer keep her grounded and one of her favorite scriptures is Proverbs 17:22, “A merry hearth doth like medicine; but a broken spirit drieth the bone” (KJV). Ilona enjoys laughing, writing, teaching and traveling.