Multicultural and multilingual, Adis Vila, a Cuban refugee, came to the United States in 1962. In 1982 she was selected as a White House fellow. She is the former Global Head of International Business development at Vigoro, former Head of Regulatory Policy for the Western Hemisphere at Nortel Networks, former Secretary and CEO of the Florida State Department of Administration, and former Assistant Secretary and COO of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A financial expert under SEC and NYSE rules, Adis retired from her position as the first Chief Diversity Officer at the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2013 and founded Vila & Associates, helping clients build diverse leadership and inclusive organizational culture.
Vila is on the board of MessageComm and a trustee of the Southern Center for International Studies. In October Vila was elected to the board of Latino Corporate Directors Association, beginning in January 2019.