Cities, community development, and the capacity development of people, organizations, and systems have been Sylvia’s passions for the last ten years. Following a path that led her from Washington, DC, to New York City, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Masaya, Nicaragua and many places in between, her career has developed within a spirit of exploration and discovery, and a dedicated sense of purpose. Following the completion of her B.A. degree in Urban Studies from Columbia University, Sylvia worked with Living Cities, Inc.: The National Community Development Initiative (Living Cities), where she was the first to fill the position of the Grants and Contracts Manager. With Living Cities – a public-private partnership established to bring opportunities and the power of mainstream markets to inner-city, American neighborhoods – Sylvia managed all contractual agreements with funders, grantees and services providers, including creating and maintaining a management control system to track and assess contract performance, deliverables, and budgets. In addition, she also supported the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors with development-related strategies and outreach. Most recently, Sylvia completed an internship with Pro Mujer, Masaya, Nicaragua, learning about mircro-finance and international development at a grassroots level. As an Atlas Fellow, she hopes to broaden her knowledge of different community development systems, while working to increase the capacity of international, public-private partnerships that improve the lives of others through coordinated, at-scale investments. Sylvia is a member of Sigma Lambda Upsilon/ Señoritas Latinas Unidas Sorority, Inc., and is on the Board of Directors for the Helena M. English Fund (a nonprofit organization that raises money for AIDS prevention and education projects in Africa) and API, Inc. (a for-profit company that provides psychological and family services in Washington, DC.).
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Host Organization: Give to Colombia