Avery Associates Staff

 William Avery, President

Bill Avery founded his successful management consulting firm in 1981. He has directed William Avery &    Associates in service as a Labor Relations and Executive Search consultancy, serving personally as a chief negotiator, trainer, and representative in grievance and disciplinary matters.

A specialist and widely recognized expert in employer-employee relations, he has served as a City Manager (Los Gatos) and Assistant City Manager. While City Manager, he was President of the Santa Clara County City Manager’s Association and Chair of the County Employee Relations Service.

Bill has lectured at De Anza College, San Jose State University, and Stanford University, and regularly makes presentations for the League of California Cities, CALPELRA, and other public sector organizations.

Building on his personal track record of success, he expanded the firm’s focus to include increased emphasis on not-for-profit and private sector search. He added proven industry professionals with expertise in these areas. The result has been to create an exceptionally strong management consulting firm, now known as Avery Associates, with the expertise to provide the full range of services required for successful public or private sector executive search.

A key measure of the firm’s success has been the many long-term relationships that he and his staff have established with clients.

Bill holds B.A. in Political Science and an M.P.A. from San Jose State University, where he was graduated with highest honors.

Bill@averyassoc.net

Paul Kimura, Principal

Paul Kimura brings a unique combination of recruitment and business experience to Avery clients.

Paul is involved in leading both not-for-profit and public sector professional searches. He has been both a corporate recruitment director and HR director for a number of high technology companies, ranging from Fortune 500 firms such as Novell and National Semiconductor to a Silicon Valley start-up.

His proven recruitment and HR generalist skills help him bring forward the best available candidates and properly assess their skills and “fit” with client organizations.

Indeed, many of the recruitment strategies and tactics incorporated into the Avery search process are a direct result of Paul’s extensive recruitment experience in the high technology industry.

Paul has been a successful HR consultant, guiding clients through all aspects of Human Resources functions — compensation & benefits, employee and management training, performance management, and termination issues.

He is skilled in areas such as strategic planning, executive coaching, separation negotiation, and organizational assessment and design. It’s another service that Avery Associates is able to offer its clients because of the unique background of its principals — and Paul’s extended skill set in Human Resources underscores the fact that Avery professionals “have been there” and understand your needs from a personal perspective.

Paul holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from San Jose State University. He is active in professional HR organizations and in the community, where he has worked with a number of education, youth service, civic, business, and cultural organizations.

“Just as Avery looks to form long-lasting relationships with its clients, I believe in making the same commitments within my community.”

PaulK@averyassoc.net

Jackie Collins, Administrative Associate

Jackie Collins is our lead Administrative Associate, having been with Avery Associates since 1999.  She brings over 30 years of experience as an administrative professional including 18 years at Lockheed Martin. Jackie is involved with the recruitment process from start to finish from brochure design and layout to coordinating the final process. Jackie oversees our job posting and marketing efforts, as well as website updates.  Also serving as Bill Avery’s Executive Assistant for 15 years, she is a pro at handling his busy schedule! She works closely with our clients and candidates and her thorough assistance and responsiveness often receives recognition.

JackieC@averyassoc.net

Michelle Ross, Administrative Associate

Michelle’s friendly voice will most often be on the other end when calling the Avery Associates office. She handles the phones while juggling Paul Kimura’s schedule as his Executive Assistant. Michelle joined the Avery Team in 2015, bringing over a decade of receptionist experience and administrative support. She is closely involved with the entire recruitment process from processing resumes and initial scheduling to coordinating the final process. She is a great addition to the Avery Team.

MichelleR@averyassoc.net

Tomi Ewing, Accounting and Contracts Administrator

Tomi Ewing joined the admin team at Avery Associates in 2015, but quickly transitioned into the role of our Accounting and Contracts Administrator.  Her strong background with 25 years of accounting and administrative support made her a great fit for that role when it opened up.  Having the ability to wear many hats, she will still jump in to help with any other administrative duties if needed. Tomi is happy to assist with any billing or contract questions and will work diligently to get the contract process completed and the recruitment on it’s way as soon as possible!

TomiE@averyassoc.net

Sam Avery, Senior Consultant

SamuelA@averyassoc.net

Bill Lopez, Senior Consultant

Bill is the newest member of Avery and Associates, joining us this September, 2015.  Bill has extensive experience in public sector management in both administration and operations.  Bill recently retired, in June 2015, as the Chief Administrative Officer/Director of Business Services for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA).  In this position he served as an executive manager over administrative departments including Human Resources, Labor Relations, Risk Management/Safety, Technology, and Procurement.

Bill has served in other management positions as well, primarily with the City of San Diego, which include Director of Risk Management/Safety, Deputy Director of Wastewater Operations & Maintenance, Labor Relations Officer, and Supervising Personnel Analyst.  He also served as an Assistant Deputy Probation Officer for the County of San Diego.  Bill graduated from San Diego State University in 1983.

WilliamL@averyassoc.net

Cris Piasecki, Senior Consultant

Cris Piasecki has been a part of our Avery Team since 2003, focusing on executive recruitment of public sector and non-profit professionals while still involved in high technology recruitment. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Cris served as Director of Human Resources at Novell. In this role, she managed a staff of generalists supporting various organizational business units, partnered with executive staff of those business units, and managed on-site responsibilities of over 1,000 employees locally.

Cris has also held progressively responsible positions at both TRW and Motorola all in staffing management roles. As an HR Consultant for various start-up companies in Silicon Valley, she was primarily focused on HR management customized for the client, including HR infrastructure, programs and policy, and employment law.  In joining Avery Associates, she expanded her recruitment expertise into the public and non-profit sectors.

Cris also had the opportunity to serve as board member for a local and popular non-profit organization in the valley for 10 years, which included a two-year appointment as Chair.  She holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration, specializing in Human Resources, from San Jose State University.

CrisP@averyassoc.net