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Born in Brazil, Silvio came to the United States as a graduate student in Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned his doctorate. Having become a citizen and raising a family in the US, he worked in the public sector for a brief period of time and then in a nonprofit organization. He eventually turned to social entrepreneurship, co-founding two small enterprises. He is currently a consultant working with Pittsburgh non-profit organizations in projects designed to recruit, train and place disadvantaged persons in jobs leading to well-paying careers, particularly in the field of manufacturing. |
Biography
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I am originally from Brazil. I came to the United States for academic reasons – more precisely, as a graduate student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh. I earned my doctorate in Sociology in 1985. My thesis work was supported by Brazil’s Conselho Nacional de Pesquisas (a rough equivalent of the NSF, or National Science Foundation). My research, and long-term collaborative work with faculty at the Department of Sociology, led to the publication of several articles in major refereed journals, such as Comparative Studies in Society and History.
After a short, post-graduation stint as an independent Consultant to local government, I joined the Mon Valley Initiative (MVI) in 1989. As Director of Development I was part of managing staff and helping assemble financing for several housing and commercial development projects in the Mon Valley. In 1994 I became a minority owner of World-Class Industrial Network, LLC (WIN), a project development and management consulting firm focused on non-profit enterprises. I remained with WIN until 2017, when ownership of the firm was transferred to its junior partners. In 2010 WIN had launched a social enterprise, eCap Network, providing comprehensive energy management services for small- and mid-sized industrial, commercial, institutional and municipal facilities. Also in 2017 eCap was sold to a CPower, a Maryland-based, energy management services firm. These two events (WIN’s ownership transfer and eCap’s sale) brought to a close my relationship with the WIN group. I have been an independent consultant since, focusing my workforce development activities on the high poverty areas of Pittsburgh’s East End. As part of these activities I have worked recently with the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Engineering (which operates a business incubator in the area) and with Operation Better Block, an East End non-profit organization. |
I have been on the Board of important Pittsburgh-based, non-profit organizations. Of particular significance has been my relationship with the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, which led me to become a Board member of Health Careers Futures, a Jewish Healthcare Foundation non-profit supporting organization dedicated to aligning the regional supply and demand of healthcare workers.
I was a co-developer of the Manufacturing 2000 (M2K) program, a training initiative designed to meet the shortage of machinists in the Pittsburgh region. This is a regional expression of a national issue that is critical to the survival and growth of advanced manufacturing in the United States. M2K sought to target and recruit low-income, minority and women candidates, train them and employ them in jobs leading to well-paying careers. In so doing, the program serves a social as well as an economic development purpose (i.e., supporting the manufacturing industry). In 2000 I became one of the co-founders of New Century Careers, a non-profit (501 c3) created to nurture and expand the M2K program. Today New Century Careers is the major supplier of trained, high-end machinists to industrial firms in Southwestern Pennsylvania. In summation, I have led a fulfilling life that has been stimulating in its diversity of experiences and that has contributed in a small way (I hope!) to address the hardships of poverty and the needs of the economy. In addition, I have maintained a life-long academic interest on the long-term issues of political and economic development in the third world, an interest that has led to a few publications early in my career. I look forward to my next chapters, dealing with the questions surrounding the revitalization of distressed urban areas in Pittsburgh and other American cities! |
Key Experience
Director of Development – Silvio served as Director of Development for the Mon Valley Initiative (MVI), a non-profit organization involved in the revitalization of the vast distressed area that resulted from the closure of Pittsburgh’s steel mills. He was part of a team that started a long-term effort of rebuilding the local economy, and which spearheaded projects in housing, commercial development and community organizing.
Director of the Center for Workforce Development, which was part of Duquesne University’s Institute for Economic Transformation. The Center was a component of the Institute’s efforts in workforce development, which included programs in workforce programming, training and career literacy.
Co-founder of World Class Industrial Network, a Pittsburgh-based project development and management consulting firm. Silvio was primarily engaged with the operational end, deeply involved with project development and implementation, market research, business planning and project financing, in addition to managing the teams involved with each of these tasks.
Co-founder of eCap Network, LLC, an environmental services firm formed in partnership with three mission-based organizations. In 2017 eCap was purchased by CPower, a Maryland-based company that had been one of eCap’s main customers.
Independent Consultant – Silvio currently works as an independent consultant. He is engaged in projects that pursue his life-long interest in, and commitment to the reduction of poverty – he is assisting community organizations in recruiting, training and placing individuals from low-income communities in manufacturing jobs. His work targets primarily the belt of African-American neighborhoods in Pittsburgh’s East End.
Director of the Center for Workforce Development, which was part of Duquesne University’s Institute for Economic Transformation. The Center was a component of the Institute’s efforts in workforce development, which included programs in workforce programming, training and career literacy.
Co-founder of World Class Industrial Network, a Pittsburgh-based project development and management consulting firm. Silvio was primarily engaged with the operational end, deeply involved with project development and implementation, market research, business planning and project financing, in addition to managing the teams involved with each of these tasks.
Co-founder of eCap Network, LLC, an environmental services firm formed in partnership with three mission-based organizations. In 2017 eCap was purchased by CPower, a Maryland-based company that had been one of eCap’s main customers.
Independent Consultant – Silvio currently works as an independent consultant. He is engaged in projects that pursue his life-long interest in, and commitment to the reduction of poverty – he is assisting community organizations in recruiting, training and placing individuals from low-income communities in manufacturing jobs. His work targets primarily the belt of African-American neighborhoods in Pittsburgh’s East End.