Jose Enrique Piñera was born in Santiago, Cuba. He came to the US in 1965 as a political refugee and grew up in Miami and New York City, where he attended the public school system. He has worked for various non-profit organizations, primarily the YMCA, which brought him to Providence in 2001. He currently works as the executive director of Sol Gallery, a gallery in Olneyville created to provide an arts space for the Latino community.