Silvia Lopez

Silvia Lopez who was born deaf is a Vocational Rehabilitation counselor with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in North Carolina. In this role, Silvia manages a caseload of deaf and hard of hearing clients providing all aspects of counseling, including advocating, marketing and empowering. A big believer in independence for people with disabilities though partnership and community leadership supports any organizations with the same vision, Silvia is a competent counselor and holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Work from Rochester Institute of Technology. Silvia is currently studying for her Master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from University of North Texas.

Silvia is no stranger to the helping hand field, having earned experiences as a nanny, lifeguard, ASL instructor, resident advisor, tutor, camp counselor, swim instructor, sales associate, office clerk and school social work intern, which taught her the important of strong work ethic, optimal self-sufficiency and sheer independence.
Silvia has always been a doer and a metaphor for ideas put into action. Silvia helped set up Deaf Professional Happy Hour (DPHH) in Raleigh and Fayetteville this past year with Shane Feldman and his staff. She also campaigned tirelessly for local movie theaters to feature close captioning in Fayetteville and succeed. Professionally, Silvia initiated Skills Building workshop to assist clients with job retention with five other specialized disability counselors.

GRO-Honduras was her first trip as a volunteer and not the last. In her spare time, she enjoys reading; dancing and helping the disabled realize their opportunities to learn, to grow and to serve.