About Dr. Jake
Jake Avila is an associate professor of construction management at MTSU. His industry experience spans over seventeen years in the construction industry where he worked primarily in general management. Prior to his transition to academia, he served as executive vice president and general manager of CA Construction, a family-owned construction firm specializing in disaster restoration and government contracting. As general manager he oversaw the business operations as well as construction and consulting services to government agencies, homeowners, property managers, law firms, AEC firms, third-party administrators, and major insurance carriers.
He is a scholar-practitioner and is committed to enhancing the work of restoration industry professionals through applied research. The underlying goal in his work is to help restoration contractors build capacity by systematically advancing the understanding of industry dynamics, improving the design and application of best practices, and strengthening connections between scholarly and professional activities. His academic work has examined family business dynamics, employee burnout, workforce development in the restoration industry.