Da Silva joined Arup Group as a graduate engineer in 1989 . She was part of the development of the Hong Kong International Airport and National Portrait Gallery , London . She began to work in post-disaster engineering in 1991 . In 2001 she was selected as one of '' Management Today '' 's 35 Women Under 35 . She has investigated the relationship between populations and the built environment , in particular the role of infrastructure in reducing vulnerability . In 2009 Da Silva founded the Arup International Development group , a non-profit subsidiary of Arup Group which works with organisations that look to improve the coordination of infrastructure development in the developing world . She is a member of RedR , '' Engineers for Disaster Relief '' , a charity who have thousands of engineers that will respond quickly after a disaster . Arup encourage humanitarian efforts to '' build back better , '' preventing homes being destroyed when floods or disasters return . Da Silva is a specialist in disaster reduction and has worked with various humanitarian groups . She worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR ) in Sri Lanka after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami . She coordinated the efforts of over 100 humanitarian agencies and the building of over 60,000 shelters in six months . From 2008 to 2017 , Da Silva worked with Sabre Education to develop a series of early-years learning facilities in Ghana . The work was supported by the Institution of Civil Engineers . She has since been working with the World Bank on a Global Program for Safer Schools . Da Silva worked with Tower Hamlets Council on '' Ideas Stores '' , a way to bring IT facilities to communities in East London
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Jo da Silva