Kelly Moynihan
Kelly Moynihan, AIA, NCARB, WELL AP, LFA, CPHC®, LEED Green Associate, 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, Kelly is a multi-faceted architect, licensed in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, with experience in multiple project types and scales including affordable housing, single 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 is a Certified Passive House Consultant, Living Future Accredited, WELL Accredited Professional, and LEED Green Associate, with an eye toward maximizing energy efficiency within building envelope assemblies and systems while creating beautiful, healthy places for humans. She has led projects that prioritize sustainability, achieving certifications such as LEED Platinum, Passive House Certified, 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. Most recently, 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 profession.
Kelly is involved as the Vice President of Membership for the AIA Chicago Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the AIA Chicago Committee on the Environment/2030 Commitment Knowledge Community, PHIUS Alliance Chicago Board of Directors, and an active member with the Living Future Community Illinois, Illinois Green Alliance, and AIA National’s 2030, Sustainability Action Plan Subcommittees. Her dedication to these organizations is proven through the development of educational programming, advancing resources and tools, and the advocacy for policy changes that decarbonize the built environment. Kelly reveres mentorship and professional development through AIA Chicago’s TransFORM, Bridge, and WING programs, promoting the acceleration of women in architecture leadership inside and outside Nurture.
