Dr. Da Silva has blazed a trail in environmental engineering consulting to focus on pioneering research and development projects in the water and wastewater sector. She co-led the launch of Brown and Caldwell’s PFAS initiative, helping utilities navigate the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape with a common goal of protecting public health and the environment. Her diverse experience includes serving as technical lead and researcher on projects encompassing water resources and reuse, advanced treatment technology, emerging contaminants, environmental permitting, and feasibility studies.  

Passionate about working at the interface of science and policy, she was a technical author for the 2012 U.S. EPA Guidelines for Water Reuse, the 2017 U.S. EPA Potable Reuse Compendium, and the 2017 Water Environment Federation (WEF) Water Reuse Roadmap. 

Da Silva is vice-chair of WEF’s newly formed blue-ribbon panel, a group of wastewater and public health experts established to evaluate biological hazards at wastewater facilities and safety precautions for operators during COVID-19 and beyond. 

Da Silva has a doctorate and master’s degree in environmental engineering from Yale University and a bachelor’s in chemical engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.