Alyssa Avila was born in El Paso, Texas and was raised in Detroit since she was 18 months old. As a youth she was an active athlete and community member. After school programming informed how Alyssa became a servant leader in her community. As a high school student Alyssa participated on Southwest Solutions Partnership for Youth Coalition where she diligently met afterschool to document vacant, open, and dangerous homes in southwest Detroit as a part of the group’s community mapping work. In 2012, she participated in one of the first iterations of Grow Detroit’s Young Talent, a summer employment program executed by SER Metro. She currently works at Urban Neighborhood Initiatives as the Director of Development & Communications where she bridges the divide between programming & stakeholders. Ms. Avila is passionate about youth development and community engagement in Detroit. She believes community transformation stems from youth development and empowerment by playing an integral role in reshaping the future of a community and its workforce. Alyssa received her Bachelors of Business Administration with a focus of Fundraising & Philanthropy from Paul Quinn College, the oldest Historically Black College west of the Mississippi located in Dallas, Texas. Every summer as a college student, Alyssa returned home and worked through Grow Detroit’s Young Talent as a Program Lead for the Council Members Youth canvassing program Team Rocky Jr. She is an advocate of after school programming, equitable youth development practices, and post-secondary attainment. During her off time, you can find her traveling the world with her family or in the city playing soccer with friends & family.
