Kelsey Jordan

Associate

Designer, activist, and researcher Kelsey Jordan, WELL AP, Fitwel, Associate AIA admires educators. Their passion. Their love for their students. She designs educational settings that meet current and future pedagogy needs while promoting equity, as well as mental and physical wellness.

Adept in both architecture and interior design, Kelsey aims for spaces that bring out the best in not only high performers, but also middle-of-the-road or struggling students. Her research and her certifications in Fitwel and WELL (programs focused on advancing health and wellbeing) have propelled positive changes in schools and the communities they serve.

Kelsey strives to put herself in the shoes of her educational clients. When the U.S. Green Building Council introduced the Green Classroom Professional Certificate for teachers, she earned the certification — it allowed her to see sustainable challenges from their perspective and therefore better achieve healthy and environmentally friendly classrooms.

Kelsey has received awards for both design and leadership. Her thesis on how architecture can combat obesity in an educational environment was the sole recipient of the American Institute of Architects Students (AIAS) Graduate Research Honor Award the year it was completed. Her speaking engagements range from panels about women in architecture and engaging K-12 students in design to sitting on graduate thesis committees. She has also written published articles on topics such as biophilic schools and health equity.

Kelsey has established herself as a leading young voice for diversity in architecture: she founded the AIA St. Louis Community Action Committee and co-founded the AIA St. Louis J.E.D.I. (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Committee. She also serves on the National AIA Public Awareness Committee, which focuses on transforming the day-to-day practice of architecture to achieve a zero-carbon, resilient, healthy, just, and equitable built environment.

Kelsey worked full-time throughout her college career. She attended her first two years of undergraduate studies at Illinois Central College while doing logistics at Caterpillar, Inc. She then transferred to Southern Illinois University, where she earned her architectural bachelor’s (minor in environmental studies) and master’s degrees.