Dr. Avilés served as Chair of the Human Rights Committee for a residential program in Massachusetts for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She also served as an appointed Board member of The AIDS Foundation of Western Massachusetts.

For the last 18 years, Dr. Avilés has had the opportunity to listen to the life stories of transgender and gender-diverse individuals. 

• Dr. Avilés shared her expertise with Amnesty International Puerto Rico.  Based on the results of her study “Needs, Obstacles, and Action Plan to Satisfy the Needs of the Transgender and Gender Variant Community in Puerto Rico,” Dr. Avilés wrote an advocacy report.  The report stated why medically necessary healthcare services to treat gender dysphoria/gender incongruence should be covered by health insurances. Amnesty International Puerto Rico presented this report during the Bar Association of Puerto Rico’s public hearings regarding health rights violations. 

• The study's results, particularly the stories of invisibility, marginalization, and human rights violations, motivated the photography exhibit Transciende, a collaboration between Dr. Avilés and Amnesty International. Transciende, through a photography lens, brought appreciation to parts of the personal experiences of transgender and gender-diverse individuals from Puerto Rico, considering their cultural context. It showed their values, creative processes, ideas, etc.  It gave them a “voice” and helped disseminate an understanding of their experiences while bringing positive visibility to begin challenging the stigma and discrimination against them

• Dr. Avilés was a guest speaker during Amnesty International Puerto Rico's presentation of their 2015/2016 Annual Report on the state of international human rights