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 * A.J. "Alex" Avila **

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===== A.J. "Alex" Avila has been a journalist, writer and media producer for 25 years. His experience ranges from ethnic community publications to national magazines, from print to broadcast, from journalism to video production and filmmaking.

From 1998 to 2010, Alex Avila was Senior Producer of NPR's //Latino USA//, a nationally syndicated journalistic radio program distributed by National Public Radio. Formerly based KUT Radio at the University of Texas at Austin, //Latino USA// won some of the nation's highest journalism awards under Avila's leadership, including: The Howard Scripps Journalism Award, The Edward R. Murrow Award given by the Radio and Television News Directors Association, The Gabriel Award, multiple awards by the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, among many others.

In 2007, while still working full-time and attending graduate school part-time, Avila began his teaching career as an adjunct professor at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, where he taught media production, media literacy, social movements and media, and undergraduate research methods until 2011. For a time, he taught at both St. Edwards University and San Antonio College, where he fit in well with the unique radio production program at the all-student run radio station at SAC.

In 2012, Avila focused on his graduate work and was given a TA position at the University of Texas at Austin where he helped students learn media production and broadcast writing. For a semester in 2013, he returned to working as an adjunct professor at Texas A&M at Commerce, but the four-hour commute proved unsustainable. In 2014, Avila was hired as a one-year visiting professor at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor where he teaches journalism, media studies, and film screenwriting.

In 2012, Avila, who has a degree in film production, began pre-production on a feature-length film project. Titled //Closer to Bottom//, the independent feature film was directed by Hollywood veteran actor Jesse Borrego. Avila served as the writer/producer of the film which he originally wrote in 1989//.// Principal photography on the project was completed in 2013 and the film was deep into post-production late in 2014.

//To download Avila's most recent curriculum vita, click .//

SAMPLES OF WORK BELOW

WATCH A SLIDESHOW AS YOU LISTEN (This will take a minute or two to download)

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//(Originally produced September 15, 2008.)//
//To listen, you must have a quicktime player.//  //For a free download// http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/

**Walmart Creates 'Más Club' in Houston**

Over the past few years, Walmart, which also operates hundreds of Sam's Club stores, has seen it's share of domestic revenues losing ground to foreign revenues. One growing market throughout the Southwest, however, has been Latino consumers. In an effort to cater to this growing market, Walmart created an experimental new store in Houston, Texas called "Más Club." It opened August 6th, 2009 and Alex Avila, of NPR's Latino USA, traveled to Houston to visit this new club.

//(Produced August 22, 2009 for NPR's Weekend All Things Considered.)//

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To listen to more, click HERE.

Closer to Bottom (Work-in-Progress) //Sample Scene// media type="vimeo" key="66681153" height="275" width="500"

//Anticipated release in 2015.//

PRODUCED JOURNALIST WORKS • ACADEMIC WORK Podcast Works by St. Edward's University Students

//To download a Quicktime player, go [|HERE] // For more complete samples, click here.

CONTACT: ALEX AVILA alexavila@utexas.edu