About
Avil Jackson|Founder
Certified Prosci Change Management Practitioner Certified Professional in Talent Development Certified Scrum Master
The Kitchen-to-Boardroom Story
I’ve spent 30 years creating and leading organizational change. In the middle of that journey, I spent a decade in professional fine dining kitchens — both back and front of house.
If you’ve never worked in fine dining, you can’t imagine the pressure. 200 covers on the books. Orders firing on a moment’s notice. One mistake and someone’s celebration is ruined. But it’s not chaos. It’s precision under pressure — because you either have your mise en place together, or you end up in the weeds.
That discipline changed everything for me.
Leadership was in my DNA long before I picked up a chef’s knife. My father was an entrepreneur who built a successful architectural firm. My mother was an educator who spent decades teaching, fighting for teachers in the union, and leading as a principal. I watched my father design systems and build a business. I watched my mother develop people and lead organizations. In the kitchen, I learned to execute both with precision under pressure.
Mise en place became my integration of all three: the entrepreneur’s systems thinking, the educator’s development mindset, and the chef’s disciplined execution.
How I Work
I blend inquiry and advisory — creating space for your organization’s insight while bringing frameworks from three decades of experience. When you need a thinking partner, I ask the right questions. When you need strategic guidance, I tell you what I see.
My approach: Preparation before pressure. Clarity before chaos. Everything in its place before you execute.
Background
- 30+ years leading organizational transformation across industries
- 10 years as a professional chef in fine dining – Four Seasons Beverly Hills and Escoffier
- Former VP of People & Culture – leading enterprise change at scale
- Certified Prosci Change Management Practitioner (ADKAR)
- Certified Professional in Talent Development — ATD
- Certified Scrum Master and Agile Practitioner
- Member: Association of Change Management Professionals | International Association of Strategy Professionals | International Coaching Federation
Rooted in Omaha — Born and raised here, educated in Boston, shaped by time in New York and Los Angeles. I returned home with a deeper appreciation for both space and community — and built LuminaNorth Group here on purpose.