Team Spotlight: Getting to Know OTL’s “Jack of All Trades” Joshua Silva

Beginning in 2020, in our newsletter and throughout our social media platforms, we began spotlighting team members who are key to the success of our company.

While OTL is known throughout the USA and internationally for designing and building magnificent water features, rockwork and themed environments, our company’s true foundation is our people. OTL simply would not be the same without our incredibly talented, dedicated, and caring team.

This month’s Team Spotlight is devoted to OTL’s “Jack of All Trades,” Joshua Silva. Joshua joined the company in 2020 and, as his title suggests, wears quite a few hats here. While his main responsibilities revolve around OTL’s accounting department, he also assists the team’s Admin, Engineering, Purchasing, and Business Development departments.

We spoke with Joshua about his favorite OTL project and a fun fact about what he does when he’s not working.

Favorite project since joining OTL: The Hillside Memorial at the Garden of Solomon in Los Angeles, California, which we are currently working on, is my favorite because it is the first project where I actually got to contribute something other than accounting. I have been learning a lot about reading plans and specs, and assisting with buyouts.

Greatest accomplishment at the company: My biggest accomplishment would be pushing the boundaries of my specific role at the company. By extending beyond accounting, I have been able to learn and apply myself in different areas of the firm and help out where needed.

Fun fact about Joshua: In college, I was on the water polo team, and I worked with a team of researchers and engineers at the University of California Irvine as a main test subject. I helped the team gather data by playing water polo as a goalkeeper. I was able to sport some of the first prototypes for what would later become the first game-legal concussion-protective caps ever to be introduced to the sport. Today, I am still involved in the sport: I coach 10&Under water polo for a club team in Orange County. I am an avid outdoorsman and enjoy camping, fishing, and hunting.

Aspirations for the future: OTL is such a great, creative place to work. I look forward to learning and understanding more about construction and the many aspects of creating a project, from design to the finished product.

Stay tuned for Team Spotlights featuring more of OTL’s outstanding team members.