CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS VOL. 1
Jacqueline Ruiz (Foreword Writer)
Jacqueline S. Ruiz is a visionary social entrepreneur that has created an enterprise of inspiration. With 20 years of experience in the marketing and Public Relations industry, she has created two successful award-winning companies, established two nonprofit organizations, published 26 books, created a number of products, and held dozens of events around the world. She has received over 30 awards for her business acumen.
Jacqueline is currently the CEO of JJR Marketing, one of the fastest-growing top marketing and public relations agencies in Chicago, and Fig Factor Media, a media publishing company that helps individuals bring their books to life. Jacqueline is also the Founder of The Fig Factor Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to giving vision, direction, and structure to young Latinas as well as the President of Instituto Desarrollo Amazing Aguascalientes, the first youth center in Calvillo, Aguascalientes, Mexico, offering various hands-on experience, courses, and global connections to support international youth in defining their dreams.
Jacqueline currently serves as a board member for the World Leaders Forum, The Fig Factor Foundation, and the Alumni Executive Board at the College of DuPage. She is a recent graduate of the Stanford University Latino Business Action Network, and the Women Entrepreneurship Cohort 3 from DePaul University among others. Jacqueline is one of the few sports Latina airplane pilots in the United States.
Claudette Soto
Claudette Soto is the President and CEO of baso, Ltd., a construction management/owner representative firm in the Chicagoland area whose mission is to elevate equitable procurement and meaningful minority and woman owned business participation while delivering projects on time and on budget. She has been working in construction management, architecture, and engineering for over 19 years. In 2001, while an undergrad at IIT, she started a grassroots organization named VAMOS, that introduced STEAM fields and the language of higher education to underserved middle school students. VAMOS has evolved to also include mentoring and career guidance for first-generation university students and architects and engineers who identify as people of color.
Claudette formally served on the Board of Trustees and Governance Committee at Mother McAuley High School, was board chair of the Rauner Family YMCA, member of Chapa Scholarship Fund, and IIT Arquitectos student chapter advisor. She is currently on the IIT Alumni Board and is the Chair of the Admissions Committee.
She has been featured in Illinois Tech Summer 2021 Magazine, Mayor Lightfoot’s 2021 Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration, Ton the U Channel 26 story “Breaking Down Barriers in Construction”, WGN as Chicago’s Very Own, Univision story series and was the award recipient of “Somos Orgullos.” Claudette was also the guest speaker during ComEd’s Solar Spotlight Program, the guest speaker for BUILD’s La Mesa Latina event, a TEDx speaker on the topic of “Change Architecture-Change Community,” as well as a speaker at the Bishop John R. Gorman Institute for Leadership in Catholic Education on the topic of “Architecture and How it Inspires Learning and Change”.
Gabriela Arreola Ceferin
Gabriela Arreola Ceferin is the Manager of Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Strategy at McDonald’s, supporting the company’s Global DEI strategy and the corporate function DEI plans. She started her career at McDonald’s as a Structural Designer in US Restaurant Development. Before leaving US Restaurant Development as a Project Architect, she had designed or managed thousands of restaurants across the country from ground-up construction to major remodels to initiative deployment. Her passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion has now led her to the Global DEI team at McDonald’s. On a personal side, Gabriela loves to travel the country in a RV with her family; she has traveled to thirty-one states and has visited many National Parks along the way; nineteen more states and many more National Parks to go!
B. Karina Ruiz, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
Karina Ruiz is one of the founding Principals of BRIC Architecture in Portland, OR, the 2019 Chair of the AIA Committee on Architecture for Education, and a founding Board Member of NOMA PDX. She epitomizes the firm’s tagline of Building Relationships and Inspiring Communities. Karina has focused her twenty-five-year career on the design of innovative learning environments. She has designed and managed over $1 billion in educational projects, many which have earned numerous local, regional, and national design awards, including two James D. MacConnell Awards. Karina is actively engaged in the national dialogue on the intersection between pedagogy, design innovation, and equity.
Additionally, as the educational facility planning lead for BRIC Architecture, Inc., Karina inspires their educational planning, community engagement, and design efforts to create a more equitable, just, and humane world. As a Latina architect, Karina works actively to introduce this field to young girls like her. Her leadership is based in the ardent belief that design can be a partner to pedagogy to more equitably serve the needs of our learners. It is her goal to design schools that empower learners to change the world.
Ingedia K. Sanchez, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, NCARB
As an associate architect at SOM, Ingedia Sanchez is a lead collaborator in the development of iconic architectural projects. She is enthusiastic in committing to the multidisciplinary design process.
With over twenty years of experience, Ingedia is responsible for project development, including conceptual, schematic, design development and construction documents. She supervises document control and maintains quality tasks. She directs project teams and maintains flow of deliverables from SOM to clients.
Since joining SOM in 2003, Ingedia has been involved with several distinct projects in the United States, Middle East, Europe, and Asia; these projects include Burj Khalifa, 401WabashTower, Tower 535, Roche Diagnostics, Kunming Tower, Hangzhou Gate, and local Chicago projects such as the O’Hare International Expansion. Ingedia is motivated by sustainability and high-performance design, which she incorporates into her building enclosure expertise while pursuing a holistic design approach.
Within SOM, Ingedia mentors university students and young professionals. Outside of the studio, she is the President of Arquitectos—The Society of Hispanic Professional Architects. She is committed to bringing the Architectural community together, advocating for Latinos in leadership, and increasing licensed Latino and Latina architects. She enjoys music festivals, golfing, and spending time with her family and two daughters.
Lourdes M. Gonzalez, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, ND
Ms. Lourdes M. Gonzalez is a Licensed Architect and LEED Accredited Professional at Primera Engineers, one of the largest woman-owned design and consulting firms in Chicago. With over thirty years of experience in the building industry, Lourdes helped conceive the Sustainable Design group at Primera, and currently is the Director of Business Development for the vertical market. Lourdes has played an instrumental role in Primera’s growth over the past nearly two decades. She leads the firm’s sustainability efforts and helped position Primera as an innovator in the green building movement.
Lourdes currently serves on the Uhlich Children’s Advantage Network (UCAN) Governing Board as the Treasurer and Chair of the Property and Finance Committee. UCAN is a multi-faceted social service organization building strong youth and families through compassionate healing, education, and empowerment. The organization focuses on serving a diverse group of clients including Violence Prevention, a 200+ Bed Residential Youth Home in North Lawndale.
Beatriz Eugenia Lopez Alzate
Beatriz Lopez graduated from University of San Buenaventura, Cali, Colombia, with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture. After graduation, she worked for a year in a Colombian construction company before moving to the United States. For the last twenty-three years, Beatriz has worked on the design of multiple restaurants, airport concessions, office, and retail projects. For twenty-one years, she has been part of the team of architects at Shapiro Associates, LLC. Her passion for architecture is reflected in her work by an all-around design service. She is involved in projects from conceptual planning to design, construction to project completion. As a leader and a team player, she appreciates working with other team members developing all aspects of a project to satisfy client goals. Creativity, excellent quality, efficiency, and attention to detail are among her personal standards. Beatriz enjoys learning and staying informed about constant changes in the profession. She is a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP BD+C) and a member of the USGBC Illinois Chapter.
Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, learning about other cultures, listening to music, meditation, reading, and taking walks with her dog.
Yiselle Santos Rivera, AIA, NOMA
Yiselle Santos Rivera, AIA, NOMA, NCARB, LSSYB, WELL AP, LEED AP, is an architect, medical planner, and Global Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at HKS, Inc. With national and international experience in healthcare, sports, residential, institutional, and commercial/ mixed-use projects, she thrives on inclusive community design, building belonging through equitable practices, and creating workplace environments that promote psychological safety and mirror the communities it serves.
As an AIA COVID-19 Health Impact Task Force member, Yiselle led the creation of the Additional Considerations section of the AIA Alternative Care Site Preparedness Assessment Tool V2.0, providing support measures for ethnically diverse and marginalized populations. She co-founded the Latin American Interior Designers, Engineers, and Architects (LA.IDEA) DC Committee and founded the “Women Inspiring Emerging Leaders in Design” (WIELD) Event program, which received the 2019 AIA Diversity Program Recognition Award. Currently, she serves as the AIA DC Chapter Board treasurer, NOMA Chair of Research and Development, and AIA New Urban Agenda taskforce member. Professionally, she focuses on bridging through differences and empowering the next generation of leaders in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry.
Yiselle is a storyteller, a 2015 Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program Scholar, and a recipient of the 2018 AIA Associate Award.
Michelle Galiano
Michelle Galiano is an Architectural Associate, practicing in high-end residential architecture since 2013. With an Undergraduate degree from Judson University in Elgin, IL, and a graduate degree from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, IL, Michelle had the honor to work at three distinguished residential architectural and design firms in the city of Chicago. From those experiences grew Michelle’s passion, attention to detail, and knowledge in residential architecture.
Michelle is a first-generation Latin American and it is from Michelle’s Ecuadorian parents that she learned to work hard, follow her dreams, and never give up. As the fourth of five children, Michelle considers her siblings her best friends and unyielding support system. It is through her family and the field of architecture that Michelle has gained insight on the person that she wants to be.
During her free time, Michelle enjoys spending time with her family and friends or traveling to other countries. She volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, assisting in constructing homes for families and for Feed My Starving Children, packing meals for families around the world, allowing her to give back locally and/or globally. Some of her hobbies include photography, sketching, dancing, and learning different languages.
Frida Araceli Palacios Acevedo
Frida Palacios is a recent graduate from the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies. She is passionate about leaving her mark on the built environment as she believes architecture has a transformative power on the positive development of communities and individuals. She enjoys exercising, watching television, trying new foods,, spending time with her parents, hanging out with her little brother, summertime, and checking things off her bucket list with her best friend. She has a dog named Kika who she adores.
Frida’s aspiration is to become a licensed architect so she can design and develop a socially conscious and sustainable future while paving the way for other minority aspiring architects. Currently, Frida is preparing to start her master’s in architecture.
Maria Laguarda-Mallo, Ph.D., Assoc. AIA
Dr. Laguarda-Mallo, is a Licensed Architect in Uruguay specialized in Innovation and Mass Timber Construction. He holds two Master’s degrees (Timber Construction and Bioproducts Engineering) and a Doctorate in Bioproduct Engineering. She has published over twenty-five peer-reviewed, industry and conference proceedings papers and articles. She has presented at national and international conferences such as the World Conference on Timber Engineering, Forest Products Society International Convention, International Mass Timber Conference (2016 & 2017), AECNext 2019, Technology Day 2019 and 2020, Advancing Prefabrication 2020 and 2021 and Advancing Mass Timber Construction 2020 and 2021, among others. From 2010 to 2012 she worked as a Licensed Architect and Professor (Design and Structural Calculus courses) in Montevideo, Uruguay. From 2012 to 2017 she worked as a PhD Fellow and Guest Lecturer at the Department of Bioproducts Engineering at the University of Minnesota. She is currently working as a Project Director at VIATechnik, specializing in Prefabrication, Mass Timber Construction, VDC Technologies adoption and Innovation. At VIATechnik, Maria has helped clients in the adoption of BIM and VDC processes, such as clash detection and coordination, building information modeling, and scan to BIM conversions. Over the past three and half years she has managed large architectural and MEP related projects, working closely with real estate developers, architects, general contractors and subcontractors from different U.S. regions in all aspects and phases of VDC adoption. She also serves as guest lecturer for Master’s degree courses at several national universities such as Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Northwestern University, Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign.
Natalie Soledad Ramírez
Natalie Soledad Ramírez is a licensed, Mexican American architect based in San Francisco, California. Born and raised in Sacramento, she attended Stanford University where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, with a Field of Study: Architectural Design. She went on to obtain a Master’s in Architecture from University of Texas at Austin. She has worked in architecture for over eleven years. She believes that the built environment can act as a catalyst for positive change and has devoted much of her career to projects that focus on public service with strong social impact ambitions.
Over the years, she has worked on public libraries, projects for ELEMENTAL, led by Pritzker Prize Laureate Alejandro Aravena, and for non-profits. Her latest award-winning project, the Bechtel Family Center for Ocean Education & Leadership of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, is the latest tool for the Aquarium to continue their mission to cultivate and inspire the next generation of ocean conservation leaders. Natalie hopes to continue to make positive contributions to the built environment alongside organizations who envision the projects, designers and users who help shape it, and those whose hands ultimately construct it. She is truly grateful for her family’s support throughout her journey and is forever indebted to her phenomenal grandparents who immigrated to the United States to work in fields, in canneries, and on railroads.
Rosa Y. Ortiz, AICP, LEED AP
Rosa provides over two decades of experience in community development, architecture, and urban planning. She is a certified urban planner and a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accredited professional. She pairs this knowledge with leadership roles in government, corporate, and not-for-profit sectors. These experiences bring an incredible depth of knowledge and understanding of community development. Her work is based on local, national, and global perspectives from practicums in Denmark, Mexico, China, France, and the United States. She leads with integrity, genuineness, and inclusiveness to create long-term partnerships.
Rosa is a committed woman of color inspired to create an equitable world one project at a time. Born in Mexico City, she is bilingual and bicultural and is proud to bring this to her work. Having come to the US at the age of eight taught her to be compassionate and resourceful. The importance of an education was instilled in Rosa at an early age, and she persevered to earn her undergraduate degree in Architecture and a master’s degree in Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She continues to nurture this value by mentoring younger professionals. Rosa lives with her husband, two daughters, and mother in Chicago and finds solace in swimming, dancing, and painting.
Raquel Guzman Geara
Raquel Guzman Geara is an architect with a background in planning, architectural and design strategies. With experience in diverse project types, she has a passion for human-centered design while creating solutions that impact the well-being of others. Her experience of living in the Dominican Republic and the US has exposed her to different cultures and perspectives which she uses as a tool for her projects. Raquel has a passion for education, mentorship, and helping communities in need. She is a founding mentor of Arquitina, an organization dedicated to raising the 1% of licensed Latina/x architects in the US. She is a leader of the JEDI committee in her office (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion). Raquel is also co-chair of AIA YAF and serves in the AIA Interior Architecture Knowledge Community. Outside of her career, Raquel is a curious person with a cheerful personality, always seeking new things to learn and new adventures to embark on.
Maria A. Pellot, AIA, AICP, LEED AP BD+C
Maria de los Angeles Pellot Peraza brings over 20 years of architectural, urban planning, and project management experience to UrbanWorks where she serves as Principal and Design Director. As an Illinois licensed architect, planner certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners, and a LEED Accredited Professional she is dedicated to producing intentional, thoughtful, and high-quality projects on all scales.
She is focused on the integration of environmentally friendly practices into every design project and is drawn to the collaborative nature of working on socially conscious community- based facilities for a variety of clients. She enjoys working directly with community stakeholders, clients and consultants and the challenge of balancing design, the environment and a project’s budget to help clients translate their vision into architecture. She has donated her time and skills to the Peace Corps and Habitat for Humanity, among others, and has served as mentor, advisor, presenter, and guest juror for students of all ages interested in design.
Maria holds a BS in Architecture from Florida International University and a MArch. Degree from the University of South Florida.
Patricia Saldaña Natke, FAIA
Patricia Saldaña Natke, FAIA is President and Founding Principal of UrbanWorks Ltd., a visionary award-winning architecture, planning, and interior design firm in Chicago. UrbanWorks Ltd. has won over forty design and planning awards locally and nationally. Pat has a passion for cities, neighborhoods, and especially the most vulnerable sections of cities and their population. She is a firm believer that well-designed spaces and places galvanize urban transformation.
She has taught and lectured in the US, Europe, and South America. Pat has served as a past Adjunct Professor at the UIC Graduate School of Architecture, Facilitator at Archeworks, Lecturer for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Visiting Instructor at IE School of Architecture and Design in Spain. She is currently an adjunct Professor at the Illinois Tech College of Architecture.
Graciela Carrillo, AIA, LEED AP B+C
Originally from Colombia, Graciela Carrillo, AIA, immigrated to the United States in 2003. She worked as an Architect for Cashin Associates, PC, for seventeen years. Recently, Graciela joined Nassau BOCES Facilities Services as a Senior Manager where she is managing school’s operational and capital projects.
.Graciela has committed a decade of volunteer leadership service to the American Institute of Architects (AIA). She has been involved with the AIA at the local, state, and national level, and currently serves as the President 2020-2021 as well as the Chapter’s Women In Architecture Co-Founder and Co-Chair. On a National and State level, Graciela was the 2017-2018 NY Regional Director for the Young Architects Forum (YAF). Graciela is also the Co-Founder of the Immigrant Architects Coalition, a group committed to helping and providing resources for immigrant architects to achieve a prosperous career in the US. In 2019, Graciela was the recipient of the AIA NYS Young Architect Award. Through her volunteering, Graciela has had an abundance of career enrichment and professional development. Of particular interest is providing a voice for immigrant professionals established in the US, and encouraging and supporting them in their path towards licensure and professional development, since she experienced, firsthand, the challenges of being educated in a foreign country while acquiring a professional license in NYS. Last year, Graciela founded the Powerful Speeches platform to champion women architects, to promote, advance, and elevate women in the profession. In 2021 Graciela was Honored the Top 50 Women In Business in Long Island.
Karen García
Karen García is originally from Mexico City and has a Master in Projects for Urban Development by Universidad Iberoamericana (U.I.A), and Architect by Universidad La Salle (U.L.S.A). Since 2012, she has participated in the design and development of architectural projects of different types and scales in her country; One of the most emblematic projects has been Biodiversity National Pavilion located in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (U.N.A.M).
Mexico City has been a propitious space for her professional and personal growth. From a very young age, Karen had the fortune to meet people who have trusted and given her job opportunities in the large-scale and best-positioned companies nationwide.
As part of a professional goal, she finished a M.Sc., that has allowed her to gain academic experience in the analysis and design of Urban Projects; which has reinforced her commitment to research, and to remain looking for new opportunities where she can apply her knowledge in projects, architectural design and cities that contribute to obtaining a more sustainable future. She is always open to new challenges, to collaborate with new people, and in new places all around the world.
Yanet Garica
Yanet Garcia, a market leader in the real estate development and construction industry, is a senior project manager at Related Midwest. Yanet led the AIA Award-winning rehabilitation and construction of Chicago’s historic Lathrop Homes, a mixed- income development of more than 400 residential units. Yanet is also passionate about mentoring small women- and minority- owned businesses and currently co-leads Related Midwest’s small business mentoring program of 25 companies, helping them learn, build relationships, and propel their organizations to new successes.
Previously, Yanet served as vice president of design and construction at Three Corners Development. During that time, she led the construction of new student housing, developed internal real estate development management strategies, and acquired the grants to obtain the first LEED Platinum status for a health center facility.
Yanet is an expert in architectural design, development, and construction and is a licensed architect in Illinois. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a bachelor of arts in architectural studies and from Northwestern University with a master of science in executive management for design and construction.