Center Associate
Silvio Baretta is a native of Brazil. He earned his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the University of Passo Fundo, Brazil, in 1969. He went on to obtain a M.A. and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Pittsburgh, in 1978 and 1985 respectively. His major areas of interest lie in the arena of political sociology -- the dynamics of regime change, with a particular focus on social movements and on the socio-economic forces accounting for political instability in 19th and 20th century Brazil. As a graduate student he co-authored several articles published in refereed academic journals, such as Comparative Studies in Society and History and Comparative Politics.
Upon receiving his Ph.D. Silvio worked as an economic development consultant to Allegheny County’s Planning Department, and then took a job in the non-profit sector with the Mon Valley Initiative, a regional organization dedicated to the revitalization of communities affected by the decline of Pittsburgh’s steel industry. Silvio was Director of Development for the Mon Valley Initiative until 1994, which he then left to start a private consulting practice. In 1998 he became a co-owner and a Senior Partner with World-Class Industrial Network, a company offering strategic planning and workforce development services to non-profit organizations, government and local foundations. World-Class Industrial Network focused on assisting clients with projects designed to meet major social needs. The company established close working relationships with local foundations, government (ranging from Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry to the federal Department of Health and Human Services to Pittsburgh-area municipalities) and local agencies, and assisted clients with project design, project implementation, and fund-raising. Silvio and his partners at World-Class Industrial Network also started a second company, eCap Network, an energy services firm providing consulting assistance and energy consumption strategies to small- and mid-sized industrial, commercial and municipal clients. Areas of focus included comprehensive energy planning and aggregation and trading of energy credits. In 2017 Silvio and his business co-owner transferred World-Class Industrial Network to their junior associates in a non-cash transaction. In the same year they sold eCap Network to CPower, a Maryland-based energy management company.
Since 2018 Silvio has performed selected consulting assignments while returning to his prior work in the arena of political sociology. He is currently engaged in research on Brazil’s early Republican period, and on the roots of the political movement that led to the demise of Brazil’s Old Republic in 1930 and to the rise of Getulio Vargas – Brazil’s dominant political figure during the first half of the 20th century.