Silvia is the Oregon IPM Center Director and a Professor and Extension Entomology Specialist at Oregon State University in the Department of Crop & Soil Sciences. She received her BA and MS in Entomology from the Agraria University in Lima, Perú, and Ph.D. in Crop Sciences with a major in Entomology and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her area of expertise is IPM with an emphasis on insect ecology, insect distribution, population dynamics, insect-plant interactions, biological control, insect-plant pathogens interactions, and chemical control. She has worked with multiple commodity groups including potatoes, grass seed, wheat, and high-value vegetables like onions, sweet corn, and carrots.