née Silvana Burtini... her parents are Cheryl and Joe Burtini... married husband Metro Gerela on 1 January 2001... grew up participating in soccer, basketball, volleyball... she was six years old when she started playing soccer for Williams Lake YSA... favourites have included Michael Jordan...

honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2010... honoured by the Soccer Hall of Fame of British Columbia... recognised in 2005 as a FIFA Ambassador for Women’s Football... she was part of the first Canadian team to play at the FIFA Women’s World Cup (Sweden 1995), recognised as a Canada Soccer Team of Distinction... as a police officer, was honoured with the British Columbia Award for Valour in 2004 (for saving a life)... she was part of the Canadian team that won the 1998 Concacaf Championship, recognised as a Canada Soccer Team of Distinction... Canada Soccer Player of the Year in 1998...

Concacaf champion with Canada (1998)… represented Canada at three FIFA Women’s World Cups (Sweden 1995, USA 1999, USA 2003), including a fourth-place finish at USA 2003... in all, won four Concacaf medals with Canada (1993 bronze, 1994 silver, 1998 gold, 2002 silver)... represented Canada at the International Women’s Football Tournament (China 1988)... career 77 international “A” appearances across 17 years from 1987 to 2003 with Canada Soccer's Women's National Teamwhen she left international football, she ranked third in international “A” appearances (63) with Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team... from Sweden 1995, was noted by the FIFA Women’s World Cup Technical Study Group as one of Canada’s outstanding players... from USA 1999, was noted by the FIFA Women’s World Cup Technical Study Group as one of Canada’s outstanding players...

club career in Canada and USA... with Surrey Marlins SC, a two-time Canada Soccer National Championships winner (Jubilee Trophy in 1992 and 1993)... with Raleigh Wings, a USL W-League Championship winner (1999)...

attended the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 in Vancouver...

said Suzanne Muir in 2021 of teammate Silvana Burtini, “she was a player that led, not just in her actions on the field, but also such a leader off the field, too. Her accomplishments are tremendous, but she was just so humble. She was a great player, teammate and athlete”....

For Country

she was 18 years old when she made her debut for Canada (05 July 1987)... represented Canada at the 1988 Women’s International Tournament in China PR... 

finished third with Canada at the 1993 CONCACAF Women’s Invitational Tournament... she scored her first international “A” goal for Canada on 4 August 1993 in Long Island, NY, USA (CONCACAF Women’s Invitational)… won a silver medal with Canada at the 1994 CONCACAF Women's Championship / FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for Sweden 1995... set national record with eight goals in a month (August 1994)... played in a career-high 14 consecutive Canada matches from 1993 to 1994... represented Canada at the FIFA Women's World Cup Sweden 1995... 

won a gold medal with Canada at the 1998 CONCACAF Women's Championship / FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for USA 1999... set national records with 11  goals in a month (August 1998) and 14 goals in a season (1998)... represented Canada at the FIFA Women's World Cup USA 1999... she was the third women's footballer to make her 50th appearance for Canada (10 June 2000)... finished fourth with Canada at the 2000 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup... 

won a silver medal with Canada at the 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup / FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for USA 2003... she was the third women's footballer to make her 75th appearance for Canada (27 September 2003)... represented Canada at the 2003 Algarve Women's Cup... finished fourth with Canada at the FIFA Women's World Cup USA 2003... was one of four footballers that represented Canada in its first three FIFA Women’s World Cup appearances (1995, 1999 and 2003 with Charmaine Hooper, Isabelle Morneau and Andrea Neil)... she made 77 career appearances for Canada (1987 to 2003), leaving international football ranked third on the Canada’s all-time list... 

For Sport

was named a FIFA Ambassador for Women’s Football by FIFA’s Committee for Women’s Football in 2005...