[Photo: Christobal Alvarez]
Download a PDF of the 2015 WSLA Awards.
“I need to really love people and society to understand how to make a difference but passion is the engine that keeps me going.”
A Mexico City-based architect (LEED AP BD+C), Silva is widely regarded by colleagues as an empowering influencer and is responsible for scores of LEED certified structures in Latin America and the US, among other services for builders and designers. She also holds leadership roles with Sustainability for Mexico (SUMe) and the Mexican Institute of the Intelligent Building (IMEI). What brought her to working in sustainability?
“I have learned that sustainability is something that you live,” she says, explaining this formed while working in Seattle from 2002 to 2009 when she met community leaders that transformed her way of thinking. “This impacted my family, my lifestyle, and my approach to developing an organizational culture where life-work balance is cared for and achieved in order to have a sustainable life.”
“I have seen how inspiration only comes with passion,” she notes. “I need to really love people and society to understand how to make a difference but passion is the engine that keeps me going.” Silva works with international teams in Peru, Spain, Mexico and Colombia, observing “the potential and love for this earth is everywhere and that all we need is tools to transform our work into something that will benefit everybody’s quality of life.”
“As a woman working in a male dominated industry I have learned that gender does not matter when you know how to work together,” she notes. “Women make fabulous teammates when working toward a sustainable goal because they put their heart into the task at hand.”
“Selecting your team right is the most important thing to be able to delegate,” observes Silva. “I am so proud of my team, their intelligence and capabilities. We have evolved together. We can do much bigger things when we work as a team.”
Tesla Motors excites Silva, in part because of her experience working on solar power installations. She believes that next-generation batteries will transform homes, business and communities that may not yet even have electricity. She draws her own inspiration from authors Carol Sanford (The Responsible Business and The Responsible Entrepreneur), David Heinemeier Hansson (Rework: Change the Way You Work Forever), Adam M. Grant (Give and Take), Chip Health (Made to Stick) and Sheryl Sandberg (Lean In).
