Biography
The Silvas are from Lehi, Utah. They have 4 children and 7 grandchildren. A son, Matt, lives in Lehi, Utah, although he currently lives part of the time in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he is project manager for the Pittsburgh temple. He has 3 children. A daughter, Stephanie, lives in Berkeley, California. She has one child. A daughter, Alicia, lives in Livermore, California. She has 3 children. A daughter, Emily, lives in American Fork, Utah.
Elder Silva worked in a variety of financial institutions for over 35 years - banks, savings and loans, and credit unions. He held various positions such as mortgage loan officer, branch manager, department head, and executive.
Sister Silva was a stay-at-home mother for 20 years. After that, she worked as a professional counselor for a hospice. Then after additional schooling, she became a licensed psychologist and worked in various settings, such as university counseling centers, a private practice agency, and a healthcare organization.
Interestingly, Elder Silva grew up in Hawaii; was educated and graduated college in Hawaii; met his wife in Hawaii; joined the Church in Hawaii; had, with his wife, their first child in Hawaii - and he is now serving a mission in Hawaii.
Sister Silva went back to school at BYU-Provo to earn a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology when she was in her mid-fifties. She was older than all of her professors and certainly much older than the other students in her cohort! It was a challenging 5-year program and became a life-changing experience for her.
Elder Silva’s mission assignment is to work in the International Student Services Department. He is developing and refining standard operating procedures and training modules. His goal is to improve training processes and quality control in order to provide more effective and efficient service for our international students and to assure compliance with the regulations of the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State.
Sister Silva’s mission assignment is to work as a psychologist at BYUH Counseling Services, providing mental health counseling for students.