America Silva

With so many major projects occupying a company’s time and resources – say, the rollout of 12 new products in a year – it’s easy to let the more commonplace tasks pile up, creating a backlog that, if allowed to grow too big, can seem overwhelming.

That’s when a company needs a “work smarter” kind of manager to identify, prioritize, and sew up those loose ends. Enter America Silva, the IT team’s application developer manager at Western Window Systems.

“Rather than simply accept the backlog as a result of how busy we are,” says chief information officer John Engelstad, “America realized that with better time management, her team could come up with monthly goals to help complete smaller development requests.”

With all the smaller projects under control, America, who has been with the company since January 2016, has been able to focus on one of Western Window Systems’ biggest priorities for 2017.

“One of the critical projects being worked on by IT is the catalog development for our new line of high-performance door and window solutions,” Engelstad says, referring to the new products rolling out throughout the course of the year. “America has been instrumental in tracking deliverables, following up on the status of items her team is working on, and tracking down answers her team needs to get the job done.”

And with information technology touching literally every department at Western Window Systems, as well as the company’s customers and partners, America has been instrumental in making sure these relationships run smoothly.

“America is at the forefront of these IT partnerships, meeting weekly with key contacts from every area of the business to provide updates on the work we are doing and help them in prioritizing the department’s workload,” says Engelstad. “She has been a primary key to our success.”

Congratulations to America Silva, Western Window Systems’ manager of the quarter.

Learn more about America Silva by reading her Q&A:

Where did you grow up?
Michoacan, Mexico.

What song best sums you up?
“Buenos Dias Señor Sol” by Juan Gabriel.

What’s your favorite sport to watch or play?
Soccer.

What are your hobbies?
Soccer, hiking, camping, traveling, reading, enjoying time with my family.

Who do you look up to/admire?
My mother.

Where do you most want to travel, but have never been?
Japan.

If money were no object, what would you do all day?
Travel and volunteer to help people all around the world.

What’s your favorite family recipe?
Mole de olla.

What is your favorite movie?
The Ultimate Gift.

What’s your biggest success until now?
My family.

What’s your favorite part of working at Western Window Systems?
Working with a management team that challenges us and promotes continuous improvement.

What’s one fun fact about you that almost no one knows?
I am learning to speak Korean.