Governance, Financial Operations, Process Improvement, Treasury and Banking Relations
Instituto Teconologico Autonomo de Mexico, University of Michigan
Avec G. O’Brien, MBA, CPA, CGMA is the Chief Financial Officer at United Way for Southeastern Michigan. She joined the organization in November of 2024 and is responsible for the organization’s overall financial integrity and operational leadership including accounting, contracts, business management and financial planning.
Avec has over 25 years of experience in building the financial health of organizations through strategic planning and partnerships, working with organizations including Deloitte, Michigan Science Center and Walker-Miller Energy Services.
After earning her bachelor’s in accounting at Instituto Teconologico Autonomo de Mexico, Avec went on to become a professor in accounting at the same school. She left Mexico for Michigan where she received an MBA with distinction from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
Avec currently serves as board director and finance committee chair to Ascension Michigan Ministry Market. She also serves as board director for the Archdiocese of Detroit Catholic Cemeteries, for Financial Executives International, and for MiSide (formerly known as Southwest Solutions). Avec served as national board director and Michigan chapter founding president of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA). She is a graduate of Leadership Detroit (LD XXXIII)
For enhancing opportunities for Hispanic professionals in the global workforce, Avec received ALPFA’s Women of the Year in 2011. In 2019, she was recognized as Michigan’s Most Valuable Professional by Corp! Magazine. In 2024 she received the prestigious Distinguished Service Award from Financial Executives International.
Avec’s deep commitment to nonprofit work and passion for helping others is inspired by her mother and rooted in her own upbringing. Believing that it takes a village, Avec prioritizes connecting the right individuals and teams to maximize results and impact.
Avec is the mother of two sons, James and Michael, who are the center of her universe. In her free time, she provides swimming lessons to students of all ages and enjoys volunteering, practicing yoga, and singing in her church choir.