Elithet Silva-Martinez, Ph.D.
University of Puerto Rico
Elithet (Eli) Silva-Martinez is an Assistant Professor at the University of Puerto Rico. In the last fifteen years, Silva-Martinez has focused her work on understanding the multiple dimensions of violence against women, especially intimate partner violence (IPV), among women from Latin America and the Caribbean. Her experience as a social worker in direct practice with survivors of IPV in the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico has allowed her to learn of the dynamics around IPV. From 2007-2009, Silva-Martinez served as a Project Coordinator at the Domestic Violence Intervention Program, for the Office of Violence Against Women Grant to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking on Campus Program at the University of Iowa. Silva-Martinez has also worked extensively with immigrant communities in the United States and Puerto Rico, which has allowed me to develop knowledge and skills to work directly with vulnerable populations, especially Spanish-speaking women. Among her many skills, Silva-Martinez offers the Consortium a rich background in cultural competency and qualitative interviewing with women from Spanish-speaking backgrounds.
