Rodrigo Silva has a degree in veterinary medicine and a master’s degree in public health. He has 30 years of experience working in public administration and public health, developing and administering government and non-profit organizations and programs at the local, national and international levels.
Nonetheless, some of Dr. Silva’s most cherished times are those spent in some of the poorest areas of Mexico, as a young public health veterinarian working with the Campesinos (small farm owners), treating and vaccinating their livestock and working animals, improving the sanitation infrastructure of the villages and providing education on the best use of food animals for some of the families living in the most remote and underserved areas of that country.
Dr. Silva serves as an Adjunct Professor for the University of Arizona, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, and as Executive for Programs for Healthy LifeStars, a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting childhood obesity. An avid outdoorsman, he spends his free time hiking and camping. He enjoys charcoal drawing, painting with pastel and oil, and woodcarving.
Dr. Silva’s work on elementary school curriculum materials focusing on public health and animals obtained the Arizona Public Health Association Hemmy Award in 1999. He was inducted in the Alpha Nu Chapter of the Delta Omega National Public Health Honorary Society in 2004.
Dr. Silva is a family man who loves to spend time with his wife Dana, their children Jessica and Rodrigo, their son in law Leo, and their four grandchildren: Alyssa, Tyler, Mya and Alex. Animals could not fail to be in his life, Dr. Silva and his wife share their home with five dogs “Winston”, “Farah”, “Ilo”, “Koko” and “Tilly”. With the exception of Tilly who came to the Silva’s with her name, all the others have names that mean “joy”.
