Systems that work
for the people in them.
I'm Sonya Silva. For 15 years I've helped social-impact organizations — government agencies, nonprofits, and coalitions — redesign the systems that touch people at their most vulnerable moments, from foster care licensing to crime-victim compensation.
I'm driven by work that advances social, economic, and racial equity.
I bring imagination to innovate, design, and transform systems to work better for people.
I believe in the power of the collective and cultivating spaces for collaboration.
Case studies
Four projects, four systems, one throughline: research that gets used, not shelved.
Creating National Standards to Approve Kin Caregivers
Co-designed foster-home licensing standards now adopted or in progress in every U.S. state.
30 forms → 3 (Maryland) · 145 days → 33 (ideal process) Toolkit · 2026Building a Culture of Family Strengthening
A maturity model helping child welfare agencies shift from reactive to proactive family support.
160 participants · 6 jurisdictions Co-design · 2023Creating Better Foster Placements for Teens
Youth formerly in care co-designed the research that shaped five agency-wide recommendations.
45 participants · 3 engagement formats