Alexis Karolides is a principal at Rocky Mountain Institute. Throughout her 14 years at RMI, her work has spanned built environment, city sustainability, and both high-tech and heavy industrial consulting projects. Her clients have included the US Air Force, the grocery industry, EDS (now HP), Rio Tinto, and the cities of Atlanta, Madison, and Las Vegas. She has served on the AIA National Committee on the Environment and the National Academy of Sciences Roundtable on Environmental Health. Focused on healthy design, resource efficiency, and environmental sensitivity, Karolides has led RMI’s biologically inspired design research and co-developed, with the Biomimicry Guild, a prototype biomimicry solutions database and portal. Karolides is also a frequent speaker at national and international conferences and a sought-after commentator for national media on RMI’s vision for an oil- and coal-free future and on the strategies to get there, including resource-efficient and sustainable design for the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.

Aspen Ideas, Policy, Leadership,