Kristos started his Architectural career in 1994 with Jensen & Halstead. At that time, Kristos led J&H into the computer age by setting up the first Autocad work station. Since then, he has been responsible for continuously updating, adding, networking, standardizing, and generally maintaining the now sophisticated IT hub that powers the firm.

Not only does Kristos manage the IT, but he also serves as Project Manager, Draftsman, Project Coordinator, and many other roles on various projects. There are very few projects in the office that Kristos doesn’t have a hand in. His technical knowledge of buildings is unsurpassed and one of his favorite parts of the project is assembling and coordinating the Construction Documents to ensure they are accurate and complete.

Kristos puts his building construction knowledge to use working on home remodeling projects. Together with his brother, they can often be found working on projects either in Chicago or at their family summer home in Wisconsin. Kristos enjoys working on cars, riding his bike, or reading, and it is a little known fact that he is a huge tennis fan.

Peter is the “rock” of Jensen & Halstead. He is the ultimate team player and can be counted on at any phase of a project. Peter has been a team member since 2004 and has developed a great understanding of how buildings are built. Having managed the Construction Administration on multiple projects over the years, he sees the importance of developing a great rapport with the entire Construction team including the General Contractor, the Sub-Contractors, and the Owner, among others, to be able to react to and solve concerns that arise during construction. Peter does this with a positive, calm outlook and while maintaining a good sense of humor.

Peter received his Bachelor of Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he graduated with honors. He and his wife are kept busy by their daughter and a high-energy boxer. He speaks fluent Polish, drips sarcasm, and is pretty good in English as well.

Melissa grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and developed an interest for design when working part-time in high school for a paint retailer.  She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Harrington Institute of Interior Design and started her career with a focus in Healthcare and Long Term Care design.  She joined Jensen & Halstead in 2005, is licensed in the State of Illinois and a member of IIDA.

Melissa’s desire to focus on Senior Living and Healthcare design came from a personal experience when her grandparents, due to health issues, were forced to move into a skilled nursing community.  Reflecting on those visits, she knew that more could be done to help those longing for a home when placed in that situation.  Good design in long-term care can provide the resident a sense of dignity and respect when they and their families are in a vulnerable state. 

Melissa enjoys the collaboration of a project from start to finish and especially thrives in coordinating all of the details that go into the specifications and project implementation to ensure a quality product.

When not working, Melissa enjoys family movie nights with her husband and two kids and like any good Italian, large family dinners with her extended family.  She is a die-hard Blackhawks fan, loves the Bears, likes the White Sox and don’t even bother talking to her about the Cubs. 

Guadalupe received her Bachelor of Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology. She has over 10 years of experience in the areas of space planning and programming to preparing architectural construction documents through BIM.  Before coming to Jensen and Halstead, her work included projects in the biology/chemistry research field, aviation industry, education, communications technology, and commercial architecture.

Guadalupe gives back to her community through philanthropy and volunteer work.  She is co-chair of the Community and Economic Development Group of the Young Leaders Fund (an affiliate of the Chicago Community Trust); she is a mentor with the YW-Rises program for the Young Women’s Leadership Charter School, and a member of Arquitectos, the Society of Hispanic Professional Architects.

Since she got her first crayons Iwona always had something in her hand to draw with. Her decision to major in Architecture was based on her interests in her two favorite subjects- Art and Math. After years of hovering over a drafting board, her experiences dealing directly with Healthcare professionals developed a new passion. She realized that nothing was more satisfying than listening to the people that would use these facilities and delivering a product that fulfilled their expectations.

Iwona has a dual degree in Architecture from the University of Illinois at Chicago and from the Technical University in Cracow, Poland. Her dual education gave her a broader perspective on American and European Architecture that she can put to use in the modern Healthcare environment with projects that can make a difference.

She is experienced in Healthcare, Educational, Residential and Industrial projects. Part of her experience included six years with an Office in a Hospital working directly with Facilities Group and the End Users.

Iwona lives with her family in Chicago’s northwest suburbs. She likes to hike, ski, read and to do art. She continues to volunteer in her free time with the Polish School to keep active in her community.

As Jarett completed his Undergraduate and Master's degree in Architecture from Southern Illinois University, he spent his summer vacations, winter breaks, Thanksgiving weekends, and pretty much any other free time interning with Jensen & Halstead. He became a part of the J&H family and was hired full time in 2017. Jarett is driven to succeed and already has his sights set on the next goal, receiving his Architectural License.

Motivated by aesthetics and design, Jarett turned his love for creating artwork, primarily through hand drawing, into a passion for Architecture and designing for the built environment. He has a strong aptitude for spatial planning and an excellent sense of exterior aesthetics. Jarett loves a challenge and is fascinated with the complexity of Healthcare design, from the planning efficiency to the technology and equipment integration.

Jarett enjoys outdoor activities like golfing, hiking and camping. He aspires to travel the country with his fellow graduates from SIU and visit all fifty-nine U.S. National Parks.

Ever since he was little, Oscar found an interest in architecture stemming from weekly visits to the great city of Chicago. After a while, he didn’t want to just look up at buildings or visit them, he wanted to design them. Oscar went on to complete his undergraduate degree in architecture from Illinois Institute of Technology with a specialization in Digital Design. Aside from receiving his architecture degree, Oscar aspires to continue to grow his knowledge base and become a licensed architect. Before joining Jensen and Halstead, Oscar worked on the retail and residential side of architecture, as well as working on building visualizations through his continued interest in Digital Design.

Living through the real life experience of seeing his Grandfather spending time in various medical facilities, Oscar became intrigued in the programming and design of each different facility. He took in the experiences, good or bad, and now seeks to help improve not only on the design aspect of the project but the workflow of the staff and the user experience. Through his interest in creating three-dimensional visuals and exciting technological advances in virtual reality, he aspires to improve the arrangement and look of the spaces within the project to enhance the experience of the user. 

Aside from the Marvelous world of Architecture, Oscar enjoys watching his favorite soccer team win (rhymes with “Bar” and ends with “celona”) and from time to time playing soccer with friends. Other interest are playing tennis, running, swimming, and biking, as well as photographing the built and non-built environment.