Prior to coming to Biola University, Avila served as department chair, MBA program director, and assistant professor of management at California Baptist University (CBU) from 2012-2015. In the industry, he served as executive vice president and general manager of CA Construction, a family-owned construction firm specializing in disaster restoration and government contracting, for over seventeen years. Avila is a scholar-practitioner and is committed to enhancing the work of construction industry professionals by leveraging the use of action research. He studied international business at Oxford University in Oxford, UK and at ITESM in Guadalajara, Mexico. He received a B.A. degree in industrial/organizational psychology from Pepperdine University, an M.B.A. in management from CBU, and a doctorate in policy, planning, and development from the University of Southern California.