Alexis Karolides

Alexis Karolides, Principal for RMI’s Energy and Resources Team, is a registered architect who came to Rocky Mountain Institute with six years of experience in commercial, institutional, and industrial architecture. Her consulting projects for RMI's Green Development Services have included a retrofit project at Hickam Air Force Base to set a new "green" standard for the Air Force, a prototype energy-efficient supermarket for Stop & Shop, a sustainable design and energy plan for Madison, Wisc., environmental consulting for the Wildlife Conservation Society, and campus-wide energy planning and building retrofit strategies for Berea College.

She has also provided educational seminars and integrated design workshops for communities, businesses, and institutions, including Shell, Perrier, the Departments of Environmental Protection and Urban Planning in Tianjin, China, and the cities of Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh. Ms. Karolides is a frequent speaker at national conferences and guest lecturer at colleges and universities; she was the sole representative for the United States at the First International Symposium on Urban Eco Sustainability in Padua, Italy.

As a frequent contributor for broadcast and print media, she provides input on topics of energy efficiency, healthy design, and environmental sensitivity for commercial and residential building projects. Ms. Karolides graduated magna cum laude from Carleton College with a bachelor of arts degree in physics and distinction for research work on solar and alternative energy systems. Following a Richter Fellowship in Germany, where she studied post-war architecture, Ms. Karolides completed a master of architecture degree at Rice University. Prior to coming to RMI, she was a project architect and sustainability manager for STG in Austin, a team member with the health care design firm Polkinghorn Cline, and a member of the Austin Sustainable Building Coalition and the local AIA Chapter Sustainability Committee. She was also an adjunct faculty member at Austin Community College in the Building Construction Technology Department.