I’m April Frederick Solis, the founder of Avadi Leaders. I started this company in 2017 with a simple mission: to inspire leaders to create the conditions for people to do their best work. I had some of the best and worst bosses in my twelve years working in Silicon Valley. Being a social scientist, I studied the attributes that distinguished them. In most cases, it was a lack of skill that led to bad managers. I decided this was a problem I could help solve with my experience in leadership, organizational behavior, and coaching.

Today, I coach and train leaders in start-ups and global technology companies, helping them round out their skills so they can drive a positive impact on people and the business. At the heart of what I do is learning and leadership development. I create experiences for leaders to experiment and learn, tap into their wisdom, and stretch to form new habits and ways of thinking that will serve them for years. I provide the right balance of thinking, partnership, structure, and accountability to help leaders advance in their careers and lives. 

I earned my Master's degree from Columbia University, completing training in organizational psychology and change management before working at Nokia, Google, Xero, and Meta. I began coaching in 2006 after earning my Executive Coach certification from the NeuroLeadership Institute and the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

In partnership with facilitators, highly skilled graphic designers, instructional designers, and videographers, we design training and leadership development programs to give employees and partners the knowledge and skills they need to be successful.

Endlessly curious about how people interact with organizational change, I inspire leaders to realize how a strategy’s success is correlated to the way people are treated and brought into a culture. I am motivated to go beyond the data to reveal how people are actually getting the job done.

I desire to have a positive impact on other people’s lives. Working with leaders is the perfect way for me to affect positive change. If your organization is ready for this kind of shift, I’d like to partner with you.