Jo Da Silva
About Jo Da Silva
Jo Da Silva is the Global Sustainable Development Director at Arup, with extensive experience in sustainable development, climate change resilience, and international development projects.
Title
Jo Da Silva is the Global Sustainable Development Director at Arup, a role she has held since 2019. She operates from London, United Kingdom.
Previous Roles at Arup
Jo Da Silva has had a long-standing association with Arup, where she has held multiple significant roles. She served as Associate Director from 2002 to 2007, and later as Director - Arup International Development from 2007 to 2019. In these roles, she led initiatives focused on improving human development outcomes in the global south and spearheaded projects that emphasized sustainable development.
Roles at The Resilience Shift
Jo Da Silva co-founded The Resilience Shift in 2016 to enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure globally. She initially served as Technical Director from 2017 to 2018, followed by Acting Director from 2018 to 2020. During her tenure, she concentrated on integrating resilience into infrastructure projects to better withstand climate change and other challenges.
Education and Academic Involvement
Jo Da Silva studied Engineering at the University of Cambridge from 1985 to 1988. She has also held academic positions, including being a Fellow at Sydney Sussex College, Cambridge University, where she lectured in Engineering for Sustainable Development. Additionally, she has served as Guest Faculty at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) from 2007 to 2011.
Recognition and Awards
Jo Da Silva has been recognized for her contributions to international development and engineering. She was honored with a Dame Commander of the British Empire title, and received the Gold Medal from the Institution of Structural Engineers in 2017. She also holds an honorary doctorate in humanitarian engineering from Coventry University.
Expertise and Projects
Jo Da Silva specializes in sustainable development, climate change resilience and adaptation, social value and equity, integration of nature solutions, decarbonisation, circular economy initiatives, sustainable investment, and strategy and reporting for sustainability. She has authored numerous papers and publications in these fields.