Sylvia grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in history. She attended U.C. Berkeley and obtained a law degree in 1972. After a short period with a law firm in San Francisco, she decided she wanted to work in a field that was beginning to attract a lot of attention: environmental law. Sylvia worked for the California Attorney General's Office in a newly formed environment section until her retirement. In 2012, she moved to Santa Barbara and is happy to make this community her home. She was drawn to the Research Committee by her interest in doing research about critical issues in the community.