Moody Nolan announced the hiring of Jodi van der Wiel, FAIA, NCARB, NCIDQ, LEED AP, WELL AP, Fitwel Ambassador, as principal and senior project designer. Jodi will lead teams across practice sectors including student life, higher education, recreation, wellness, K-12 education, housing, sports and workplace design. In addition to her national design leadership role, she will support the Cleveland studio through firm leadership and design, implementing effective strategies to amplify the firm’s regional presence.
“Jodi’s impressive career and long-standing reputation as a leading designer only strengthen our firm’s capabilities. We are thrilled to have Jodi back on the Moody Nolan team and look forward to seeing her impact throughout the firm,” says Jonathan Moody, president, and CEO of Moody Nolan. “Jodi’s level of expertise and years of commitment improve the industry through leadership in human-centric design, diversity, and equity initiatives. We are confident she will continue to innovate while upholding our core values.”
From her early work in healthcare and community recreation, van der Wiel established a design philosophy linking nature with wellness, and her projects continue to be recognized for design excellence, including AIA Cleveland and AIA Ohio, the state’s highest prize for design. Van der Wiel will be one of several leaders spearheading Moody Nolan’s design studio, Studio 9. With designers across the country, Studio 9 is a cross-disciplinary think-tank that supports iterative, consensus-based design, responsive to client vision and values.
She first began working with Moody Nolan in 2000, crediting those 10 formative years as an integral experience that continues to shape her career. She also is active in the American Institute of Architects. Under her leadership, AIA Cleveland collaborated with Beyond the Built Environment to host SAY IT LOUD: Ohio, part of the largest national exhibit in history for underrepresented architects and their works.
In 2015, van der Wiel co-founded AIA Cleveland’s Women in Architecture Committee and Cleveland Connect, the chapter’s mentorship program, linking emerging professionals with community design leaders. She served as president of AIA Cleveland in 2020. She serves as an adjunct professor for Kent State University’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design.
