Avi was born in Montreal, Canada and was educated in a French immersion program from kindergarten through high school.

He attended the University of Waterloo and graduated with a BASc in Electrical Engineering. In his last year there he co-founded WEEF, an $8 million (and growing) endowment to fund undergraduate engineering education.

After graduating in 1990, he moved to Seattle to work at Microsoft as a Software Developer and as a Technical Evangelist. Avi's daughter has been attending FASPS since 2006. When he is not driving her to and from school, he is an aspiring chef and an avid curler at the Granite Curling Club.