Avril formerly served on the board of a privately held company focused on information technology, software engineering and workforce development. She is Immediate Past Chair, Arlington County (VA) Economic Development Commission (EDC) and chaired the EDC’s Workforce Taskforce, the Commission’s collaborative community initiative to address workforce development, business recruitment and realignment, business climate and other economic development concerns.
She also spearheaded Arlington County’s Framework for Prosperity 2.0- Equity Update: Equitably Advancing a Dynamic Economy to provide a strategic framework for the equity resolution adopted by the county board with the emphasis on economic development. During her tenure, the National Landing area of Arlington County became the first “smart city” in the United States through a public private collaboration to establish the new 5G digital infrastructure to potentially draw more tech companies to the area and support businesses and residents.
An attorney with more than 30 years of professional and community leadership and recognized for her skills in risk assessment, process improvement and ROI initiatives, Avril has a strong record of innovation in large and mid-size government, business and nonprofit organizations as well as consulting experience in both Japan and the United States. She combines governance and ethics expertise, employee relations and community engagement successes, and her career has included a variety of leadership roles in public policy and state governments.
As consultant in Japan, Avril created an entirely new profit center for her consulting firm by enfranchising Japanese women as employees in western corporate firms, along with her coaching work with senior-level Japanese executives. Avril focuses on governance and ESG principles, as well as the transformation of work and the competition for talent. She is a frequent speaker and panelist on these and related issues.
She is a certified Leadership Professional in Ethics and Compliance (LPEC) with government and regulatory, business, public affairs and legislative experience. A former North Carolina State Court judge, Visiting Faculty at the National Judicial College in Reno, NV and adjunct law professor at Temple University’s Japan campus, Avril was formerly ethics counsel at the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). She is NACD certified and served as moderator for a 2020 NACD panel on of ESG. She is active in a number of civic and cultural organizations.
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