Silvia is an extremely hard working, organized, and creative person who leads with her heart and values of social and environmental justice. Working with her in Center Program at the Hyde Park Art Center, I was constantly inspired by her clarity, sense of purpose, and guidance. She is a thoughtful and deep listener who can get to the root of what motivates the work of artists to help them achieve their goals and is consistently building community on multiple fronts that are impactful, powerful, and generous.

- Holly Cahill, Artist and Independent Curator

Silvia has been an incredible support to our work, primarily around working with us as an artist, educator and co-designer of a report we published related to work we did with CPS and ETHS high school teachers in Chicago and Evanston. (https://www.bluedandelion.org/codesign) Silvia not only helped us bring our vision to life but deepened our way of thinking about the design and worked with our leadership team as well as our broader team of teachers to think through the ideas we wanted to share and how we wanted to share them, with educators, school leaders and families/communities as a primary audience in mind. I learned from Silvia's approach in ways that continue to shape our work and am deeply grateful for the ways she supported our project.

-Shirin Vossoughi, Educator, Scholar, Mama, Writer, Associate Professor, Northwestern University

I've mentioned this before, but I truly believe Silvia’s greatest strength lies in her ability to listen to me as I share a ton of thoughts, often in a non-linear way, about the work I want to do. She has this incredible skill of synthesizing everything and turning it into a clear, easy-to-follow framework that I can reference in the future. She’s exceptional at breaking things down and highlighting the key elements, not to mention her perspectives are timely and from a critical point of view. Silvia is immensely well educated on intersectional feminism, abolitionist and decolonial perspectives and theories. Overflowing with grace and humor, she is a charming conversationalist and has exceptional relational skills to boot. Others would benefit from Silvia’s work if they are seeking an anti-racist, justice-driven perspective that will transform their ideas into a top tier actionable plan bound for success.

-Catie Burrill, Artist, SAIC and CAD

Silvia supported my work by giving me both conceptual and technical feedback on a body of work that I was developing for Center Program. This work progressed and morphed over the course of a year so her support was broader than just one time snap shot and flowed into a community workshop connected with the work. I took her feedback to heart, was encouraged by some of the writing exercises, was able to try out various pathways, and implemented a number of solutions that came from conversations/group discussions.

Beyond her individual insights on my work, I thought Silvia excelled at facilitating group critique and feedback. Silvia supported a group of people and could keep everyone on task and on time (such a rare and amazing quality, can't praise that enough). This gave me the feeling that she honored everyone's time and we were able to get into a productive rhythm together. I loved that there were many entry points for people to engage, like open discussion, small groups, and post-it notes. This came in handy for me personally when I was going through a heavy time. I was able to continue to participate at the level I was comfortable until I was feeling better (that is to say, I didn't feel sidelined or spotlighted). I attributed that to her specifically creating this warm, generative space with clearly defined boundaries and multiple avenues of entry. As a result, we were able to cultivate deep, thoughtful, and vulnerable conversations.

- Amanda Mulcahy, Artist, Faculty at Lillsteet, Evanston Art Center, & SAIC, Teaching Artist at CAPE

I was part of the Center Program at Hyde Park Art Center. Silvia used think sheets, informal meetings, and required formal presentations throughout the year. They were all useful. For me, though, her most interesting request was for me to move beyond just visual presentation of my work. At her suggestion (insistence?) I wrote about what I was making as well. As part of my final exhibit I made a small edition of an artist's book, writing about my process in an oblique, informal way. It clarified my thoughts about the meaning of my work and the year I spent making it.

-Laurie LeBreton, Artist

"When I think about support I think of the wondrous way you facilitate growth and feedback through your role at the Center Program. That supported me by activating my artistic and pedagogical selves. Your work with SALA made me think about my place in an arts and poetry ecosystem in more formal but also thought provoking ways. So much more but for now..."

-Hilesh Patel, HNP Consulting, SAIC, Consultant, Lecturer, Adjunct Faculty