Entrepreneurship, Social Enterprise, and Financial Technology
Entrepreneurship, Ethics & Social Responsibility
Professor Avila teaches courses at the intersection of entrepreneurship, sports and social impact while serving as the Faculty Director of Vanderbilt’s Center for Social Ventures. The Center is focused on developing socially and environmentally conscious leaders and doers and serves as a resource and thought leader for people across the university interested in combining revenue-generating businesses with social impact objectives. The Center is focused on serving as a hub for student resources, fellowship, collaboration, and partnership across the university—further promoting responsible business practices and shaping future leaders of our domestic and international communities.
Professor Avila was a member of Leadership Tennessee’s Class III and was honored as a 50 Under 40 Social Enterprise Leader by American Express. He was also selected to represent Nashville as one of Harvard Business School’s Young American Leaders, which brings together some of the country’s top leaders who are working across sectors to help their communities prosper. He was selected as a member of the Vanderbilt Leadership Academy – recognized as a high-performing leader at the institution and was honored as one of Nashville’s 40 Under 40 business leaders in 2020. Most recently, Professor Avila was recognized with Vanderbilt Athletics’ Distinguished Faculty Award.
Social Enterprise, Entrepreneurship, and Financial Technology
In addition to his academic career, Professor Avila was the CEO of Emerge and founder of Contigo Financial, a B Corp Certified and socially responsible fintech consumer lender. His management experience includes finance, education, and consulting in three different countries. He was a Fellow of Vanderbilt’s Cal Turner Program for Moral Leadership in the Professions and helped develop a hybrid housing-microfinance model to finance mortgage needs of people at the base of the pyramid in Central America.
Professor Avila has served on various boards and commissions, including Conéxion Americas, the Nashville Food Project, and The Nashville Fairgrounds, and serves as Chairman of Vanderbilt University’s Credit Union.
Professor Avila teaches in the MBA and Executive Education programs. His courses are at the intersection of entrepreneurship, sports and social impact. He also leads various Global Immersion programs, including Project Pyramid — an interdisciplinary course that introduces students to the global poverty challenges and the business-driven solutions aimed at alleviating them. The course consists of hands-on international consulting projects.
MBA, Vanderbilt University, 2012
B.A., Dartmouth College, 2004
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