Ms Pennsylvania Senior America
Welcome to the website that will enable you, a prospective sponsor, to appreciate the background and qualifications of Willetta Wyatt Silva, to serve as Ms Pennsylvania 09, Senior America, Inc.
Willetta has been selected to
represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the National Senior
America Pageant, to be held October 4 - 8, 2009 in Atlantic City, N.J.
There, she will compete for the title of Ms. Senior America against the
other state representatives. The pageant is not a beauty contest but
rather a competition to select senior women over 60 who demonstrate
elegance, a record of community leadership, and ability as a
communicator. Senior America, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that
encourages seniors to seek personal growth through continuing community
service in forums responsive to their special needs and lifestyles.
Senior America Inc. functions to enhance the lives of seniors
everywhere. (Log onto the web site for Senior America, by accessing
this link: "www.senioramerica.inc"
Willetta Wyatt Silva is a product of the farming communities of the Midwest, Illinois, she was reared on a 640 acre farm near Champaign Illinois.
She began her education in a one room, prairie school house in Mohamet. She is a graduate of Mohamet High School, the graduating class of 1951. Later as a recipient of scholarships, she attended universities in Illinois majoring in foods and nutrition preparing to become a classroom teacher. At age 50, she returned to complete a PhD at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois.
Dedication to social action and community service has been a hallmark of her life. She began her career as a teacher of the handicapped. During that period she became involved in community political action groups, serving as founder of the community action group, the Pennsylvania Association for Brain Injured Children. This parent political action group created the first classes for brain injured children in Pennsylvania. Willetta later became the vice president and legislative chair for the National Association for Children with Learning Disability, where she was a major force in the passage of the Learning Disabilities act of 1969, --federal legislation which for the first time, created funds to identify and serve learning disabled children via a federal mandate. Her record of Public service to the handicapped has generated several awards for distinguished service from national organizations and the states of Pennsylvania and California (see C.V. for documentaion of citations for service) and in 1973, she was listed in the Compendium, the international Biographical Index of Eminent people in the Field of Exceptional Children.
In 1988, after finished with her PhD, she accepted a position as a tenured professor of English, teaching English to Japanese students,. Sendai, Japan. She also served as a consulting editor to the Department of Nuclear Medicine, Tohoku and Tohoku Gakuin University, Sendai, Japan until 1998.
Upon her return from Japan, Willetta entered the current phase of her community work. She became the creator, producer and host of Senior Moments.
Personal History and Background
Willetta Wyatt Silva is a product of the farming communities of the Midwest, Illinois, she was reared on a 640 acre farm near Champaign Illinois.
She began her education in a one room, prairie school house in Mohamet. She is a graduate of Mohamet High School, the graduating class of 1951. Later as a recipient of scholarships, she attended universities in Illinois majoring in foods and nutrition preparing to become a classroom teacher. At age 50, she returned to complete a PhD at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois.
Philosophy of Life:
Dedication to social action and community service has been a hallmark of her life. She began her career as a teacher of the handicapped. During that period she became involved in community political action groups, serving as founder of the community action group, the Pennsylvania Association for Brain Injured Children. This parent political action group created the first classes for brain injured children in Pennsylvania. Willetta later became the vice president and legislative chair for the National Association for Children with Learning Disability, where she was a major force in the passage of the Learning Disabilities act of 1969, --federal legislation which for the first time, created funds to identify and serve learning disabled children via a federal mandate. Her record of Public service to the handicapped has generated several awards for distinguished service from national organizations and the states of Pennsylvania and California (see C.V. for documentaion of citations for service) and in 1973, she was listed in the Compendium, the international Biographical Index of Eminent people in the Field of Exceptional Children.
In 1988, after finished with her PhD, she accepted a position as a tenured professor of English, teaching English to Japanese students,. Sendai, Japan. She also served as a consulting editor to the Department of Nuclear Medicine, Tohoku and Tohoku Gakuin University, Sendai, Japan until 1998.
Television Career
Upon her return from Japan, Willetta entered the current phase of her community work. She became the creator, producer and host of Senior Moments.
In that role, she used her considerable talents and energy to create public access TV programs directed at serving the population of seniors. She has created programs concerning cancer prevention, Alzheimer's disease, nutrition, health and fitness, etc., each designed to expand the ability of senior citizens to access various services. That production, Senior Moments can be seen in the suburban, Philadelphia area.
Servicing Seniors as a Teacher
Willetta was one of the founders of the Academy for Learning in Retirement, Widener University, Exton, Pennsylvania where she continues to teach a popular course, Living to be 100.
Contact Information
Dr. Silva can be contacted through email at askdrsilva@yahoo.com or by phone at 484 924 8540. She is available as a public speaker or for nutritional counseling.
List of Sponsor's and Their Contributions
Mel Cooke, Denver, Pa
Norm Vadner, Berwyn, PA
Jules Spatz, Wyndmoor, PA
Dr. Robert Farly, King of Prussia, PA
Bob Gamble, New Mexico
Jack Myers, Chesterbrook, PA
Dolly Ferrier, King of Prussia, PA
Tony and Janet Trezza, Valley Forge, PA
Elsi and George Rayl, Berwyn, PA
Doris Cafiero, Philadelphia, PA
Mitch and Talia, Philadelphia, PA
Sandy Quigg, Valley Forge, Pa
Dr. Don Sautter, Quincy, Mass.
Dr. Anabelle Linneman, Audubon, PA
Gateway Pharmacy, Phoenixbille PA
Ida Synder, Paoli, Pa
Anita Weeks, West Chester, PA
Dave Patton - Class of 1951, Mahomet, Seymour High School
Rev. Don Wyatt, L.A., California
Harry Alba, Jeffersonville, PA
Al Fonda King of Prussia, PA
Barbara Nodine, Annville PA
Sandy Quigg, Valley Forge, Pa
Dr. Don Sautter, Quincy, Mass.
Dr. Anabelle Linneman, Audubon, PA
Gateway Pharmacy, Phoenixbille PA
Ida Synder, Paoli, Pa
Anita Weeks, West Chester, PA
Dave Patton - Class of 1951, Mahomet, Seymour High School
Rev. Don Wyatt, L.A., California
Harry Alba, Jeffersonville, PA
Al Fonda King of Prussia, PA
Barbara Nodine, Annville PA
