Founder

9th Book. The Lost Lava Rock

This is a children's fiction book about the environment and a child's curiosity.
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8th Book Saints of Mary's Project

A book of poetry, fiction, and mixed media art centers around the Bronx's neighborhood called Saints Mary's, where the author grew up.
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Founder & CEO, Avila Production

Alex Avila is a Bronx native, born to Honduran immigrant parents, and proudly Black, Latino, and Indigenous Garifuna. His life’s work bridges storytelling, economic development, education, and community transformation.

Alex is an English and Digital Media Arts Professor, author of nine books, public speaker, and creative economy strategist. For over twenty-five years, he has worked with community organizations on housing, immigration, workforce access, education equity, and economic mobility across California — with a particular focus on the Inland Empire.

Creative Economy & Public Investment Leadership

While working in collaboration with Governor Gavin Newsom’s GO-Biz office through California Jobs First and regional K-16 workforce initiatives, Alex assisted in aligning and bringing in over $70 million in funding opportunities for the Inland Empire region. His work focused on economic mobility, workforce pathways, creative economy development, and regional industry partnerships.

He previously helped support the IEGO platform in securing over $20 million from the Governor’s $600 million California Jobs First initiative, contributing to regional strategies that connect education systems, employers, and community-based organizations.

Alex has successfully written and won over $7 million in competitive grants for community-based organizations in San Bernardino County and helped coordinate multi-organization coalitions that secured transformative funding, including the JUST SB coalition of nine organizations that received over $5 million from The Irvine Foundation to establish the People’s Plan workforce model.

His work sits at the intersection of:

• Creative Economy Development
• Workforce & K-16 Pathways
• Grant Strategy & Capital Stacking
• Community School Partnerships
• Cultural Storytelling as Economic Infrastructure

Avila Production Presents: Literacy & Creative Economy Pathways (LIT Program)

Alex recently launched Avila Production Presents – LIT (Literacy, Innovation & Transformation), a literacy and creative economy pathways program designed for K-12 districts, county offices of education, community schools, and youth development partners.

The LIT Program combines:

  • Publishing & storytelling workshops

  • Youth entrepreneurship development

  • Digital media production

  • Creative economy career exposure

  • Civic storytelling & belonging

The program is built on the belief that literacy is workforce infrastructure — and that storytelling is economic power.

Author & Literary Background

Alex has authored nine books exploring identity, biculturalism, urban resilience, and cultural memory through poetry and prose. He earned his MFA in Creative Writing from California State University and studied Advanced Poetics at the University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop. He also attended the University of Iowa on a full scholarship in Social Work.

His honors include:

  • Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society

  • Golden Key International Honor Society

  • Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society

His most recent book, Saints of Mary’s Projects, blends poetry and mixed media to explore memory, place, and belonging.

The Next Generation: Lex Adventures

Alex is also a father and mentor to his son, Lex M. Avila, a young author-entrepreneur who has written and published four children’s books and is currently working on his fifth book.

Lex began publishing at age four with Lex Adventures: The Lost Lava Rock, and his books are available at major retailers including Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, and independent bookstores nationwide.

Together, Alex and Lex use storytelling as a model for youth empowerment, literacy leadership, and intergenerational creative entrepreneurship.

Media & Cultural Production

Alex has created and produced five podcasts including:

• College Career and Beyond
• Parents Are Cool
• Black Talk Series
• Black Brown Economic Empowerment Podcast
• The Fellas

His work in performance and cultural arts includes collaborations with playwright Rickerby Hinds (UC Riverside), Maura Townsend, and Rev. Bronica Martindale. He has presented at AAHHE, PAMLA, Latino Health Equity Conferences, and numerous higher education and policy spaces.

Civic & Community Leadership

During COVID-19, Alex co-founded and supported several regional collaborations including:

  • Black Brown Economic Empowerment Partnership (The BEEP)

  • Black Brown Collective (BBC)

  • Inland Empire Multicultural Collective (MCC)

  • JUST SB

These efforts advanced regional workforce equity, food justice, housing stability, and economic mobility strategies.

He has worked with youth in juvenile hall, English learners in San Bernardino schools, and communities impacted by homelessness, HIV/AIDS, environmental injustice, and economic inequality.

Avila Production

As Founder & CEO of Avila Production, Alex leads a film, photography, media, consulting, and strategic storytelling company focused on:

  • Narrative strategy for public institutions

  • Grant-aligned creative content

  • Economic development storytelling

  • Youth media development

  • Podcast & documentary production

Avila Production is where culture meets capital — and where storytelling becomes infrastructure.