ROULA ALAKIOTOU

Roula is a native of Piraeus Greece; she received her Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago, with Honors and High Distinction in Design in 1975. In 1978 she received her Masters of Architecture degree, with Honors, from the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana.

In 1980 she founded ROULA ASOOCIATES ARCHITECTS, CHTD. Her award winning firm specializes in large scale public projects, highlighting the breadth and depth of her professional, entrepreneurial, civic and charitable activities in heading her own architectural firm. Significant projects include the Remote People Mover Station at O'Hare International Airport; the Cook County Jail Division XI, at 31st & California - one of the largest correctional institutions in America; a variety of Chicago Public Schools - new and renovations; Historic Preservation of structures in the Forest Preserves of Cook County; a variety of renovation projects for the Public Building Commission of Chicago and Cook County Capital Planning; as well as Public Housing. Her versatility is also shown in the St. John Chrysostomos Greek Orthodox Monastery, located in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

From 1986 to 1992 she served three Chicago mayors as the only architect on the five-member Zoning Board of Appeals. Since 1986 to present she serves on Chicago's Building Department Committee on Standards and Tests reviewing permits that violate Chicago building codes. She has been active in civic and charitable activities. She was a co-founder of the Architects for Social Responsibility, the founder and president of North Lakeside Cultural Center and led the community to acquire and develop Berger Park located on North Sheridan Road. She is a member of The Chicago Network (TCN), The Chicago Architectural Club (CAC), the Executive Club, Chicago Women Architects (CWA), American Institute of Architects (AIA), and serves on the board of the International Women's Forum (IWF). In 1997 she was elevated by her piers to a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) a distinction offered only to a selective group of Architects.