Alex is founding Principal of Salazar Architect, a public-interest design firm in Portland, Oregon. In 1993 he was honored with a Graham Foundation Fellowship to apprentice with NGOs in India designing housing after a major earthquake, work that connected architecture to community organizing. The experience was akin to working in a war zone -- with the links between shelter, health care, food security and sustainability laid bare. This has shaped Alex's entire career. In the early 2000s he became a founding member of the Board of Directors of Just Cause Oakland (aka Causa Justa Just Cause), a multi-racial organization focused on Housing Justice. He is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Association for Community Design (Boston, MA) and East Bay Housing Organizations (Oakland, CA). Currently he serves on the AIA's Housing & Community Development committee and the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association's (NH&RA) Equity Diversity and Inclusion committee. Alex holds a Bachelor of Architecture from California Polytechnic State University SLO (1993) and a Master of Science in Architecture from UC Berkeley (1998). Beside practice he occasionally teaches community design studios, most recently at Portland State University and previously at UC Berkeley, University of San Francisco, University of Oregon.