Kelly Moynihan

Kelly serves as a Principal at Nurture, a design leader that pursues the preservation, celebration, and innovation of carbon-free, equitable, high-performance projects. A graduate of the University of Minnesota and Illinois Institute of Technology, holding licenses in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, Kelly is a multi-faceted architect with experience in high performance buildings, affordable, single-family and multi-family residential, K-12 and higher education, civic and institutional, historic preservation and renovation, adaptive reuse, commercial interiors, and sustainable master planning.  Kelly leads projects with a thoughtful, engaging integrated design process that brings all voices to the front in the pursuit of innovative, meaningful, sustainable story writing, to ensure that the project’s impact, enthusiasm, and value are amplified and protected for future generations.  

Kelly is a Certified Passive House Consultant, Living Future Accredited, WELL Accredited Professional, FitWel Ambassador, and a LEED Green Associate, with an eye toward maximizing energy efficiency within building envelope assemblies and systems while creating beautiful, healthy places and spaces for all. She has led projects with ambitious sustainable design progress and innovation, achieving certifications such as LEED Platinum, Phius, and Living Building Challenge Petal Certification.  Prestigious accolades include an AIA COTE Top Ten award-winning project - the highest honor for sustainable architecture; statewide awards including the AIA Illinois Sullivan Award - Best Project of the Year, Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Preservation Award - Adaptive Reuse; and local awards including AIA Chicago Design Excellence Awards - Distinguished Building, Interior Architecture, Decarbonization, and the Urban Land Institute Chicago Vision Award – Excellence in Environmentally Sensitive Design and Community Engagement. Kelly was awarded the 2022 AIA Chicago Presidential Citation and the 2023 AIA Illinois John Wellborn Root Award, recognizing her service and leadership in the architectural community.  

Kelly is the 2026 President of the AIA Chicago Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the AIA Chicago Committee on the Environment/2030 Commitment Knowledge Community, Secretary for the Phius Alliance Chicago Board of Directors, and Co-Chair for the Living Future Community Illinois, and an active member of the Illinois Green Alliance.  Her dedication to these organizations is proven through the development of educational programming, resources, and tools, and the advocacy for policy change to decarbonize the built environment and advance missions of equity and inclusion in the architectural profession.