Phone:

317-274-0559

Email:

sigarcia@iu.edu

Role(s):

Assessment, Research,

Department:

Office of Community Engagement

Campus:

IUPUI

Silvia is in charge of facilitating and conducting research that involves participation and close collaboration with community partners in projects designed to further community development.

She conducts applied research and program evaluations that address complex community issues through a disparity-reduction lens. She has been actively involved in supporting local organizations to measure the progress and impact of projects and programs to improve the quality of life of urban neighborhoods in Indianapolis.

She works across multiple projects intersecting with economic mobility, educational disparities, and immigration. In recent years, she has conducted research projects prioritizing the voices and well-being of immigrant communities in Marion County. These studies focused on understanding barriers and opportunities for immigrant youth and examining the factors affecting youth immigrants’ transition to stable work. She has received grants from the Indiana Campus Compact (now the Community Engaged Alliance), the IU Racial Justice Research Fund, and the W.T. Grant Foundation to conduct research in this area.

Silvia has developed research collaborations with the Center for Research and Inclusion & Social Policy (CRISP) and is the Co-PI in the Nexus for Equity + Opportunity Nationwide (NEON) project, funded by the Indianapolis Foundation. She is a founding member of ENGAGE! IU Indianapolis's first peer-reviewed journal dedicated to Community-Engaged and community-based participatory research.

Silvia was a Research Scholar for two years at the IU Bloomington School of Education and has worked at IU Indianapolis since 2012. She has a Ph.D. in Development Studies from the Universidad Central de Venezuela, a Master of Education from Harvard University, and a Master of Public Affairs - Non-Profit Management from IU Indianapolis.