AIA New Jersey and AIA Architects League of Northern New Jersey Past President Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, is receiving an Alumni Achievement Award from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)!
Kliesch is being recognized for her many years supporting the next generation of architects as an academic liaison and juror at the NJIT Hillier College of Architecture and Design, a coach and judge for the New Jersey School Board Association STEAM Tank, an annual presenter for the Girls Career Institute, an educator in Architecture and Interior Design, and her decades of volunteerism at the American Institute of Architects!
The awards celebration will be held on campus on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The full announcement from NJIT is available here…
https://news.njit.edu/stacey-ruhle-kliesch-aia-99-recognized-njit-alumni-achievement-award
Stacey is the Principal of Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, Architect, LLC. Ms. Kliesch is licensed to practice architecture in NY and NJ, and is a NJ Certified Interior Designer. She has been an Adjunct Professor, Guest Lecturer or Visiting Critic at the New Jersey Institute of Technology Hillier College of Architecture and Design, Michael Graves College at Kean University, Berkeley College, and Bergen Community College.
Stacey mentors colleagues of all ages and career stages, but is especially passionate about supporting the K-12 community. She is a contributing writer for Building Connections, a publication from the American Architectural Foundation sharing K-12 sample programs she designed as part of her college thesis and practiced in the field for 10 years post-graduation; has been a team advisor and juror for the New Jersey School Board Association’s annual STEAM Tank Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition since its inception in 2015; and has been Academic Programs Liaison for the NJIT Hillier College of Architecture and Design for 18 years. Stacey also serves on the advisory boards at four schools: Endicott College Advisory, Northern Valley Regional High School STEM Advisory, Hudson County Schools of Technology High Tech High School CTE Advisory and Fair Lawn High School CTE Program Advisory
Stacey has been a Guest Lecturer for the Oakland Schools Gifted & Talented Program, Oakland, NJ Public Schools; Architect In Residence for the Central School in Warren, NJ, for Arts Horizons; Design Education Advisory Committee Member for the NY Foundation for the Arts; Presenter for the Alliance for Arts Education at the Artist/ Teacher Institute; Instructor for the Gifted Child Society; Mentor for scholarship recipients of the Architects Foundation Scholarship; Girls Career Institute Presenter for the NJ Federation of Women’s Clubs; Architecture Badge Mentor of the Girl Scouts of Bergen County. Stacey also served as New Jersey Interior Design Wish Maker for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
With her contributions, AIA NJ and AIA Architects League of Northern NJ (AIA ALNNJ) have been recipients of Architecture Week K-12 Grants each year that it has been offered; she is an editor of the AIA K-12 Design Competitions Guide Contributor; a past AIA Leadership Conference Presenter, AIA Learning By Design Grant Recipient, AIA National Conference K-12 LEGO Project Mentor, AIA NJ K-12 Education Committee Chair, AIA NJ State Convention K-12 Design Education Event Chair, Co-Chair of the AIA ALNNJ High School Girls’ Tower Challenge, and for the AIA Washington DC Chapter, she was an Architects In Schools (AIS) Student Instructor when the program was founded.
Stacey also serves as a college counselor for students applying to Architecture School.
In 2006, AIA National recognized her leadership in implementing the 150th Anniversary AIA NJ 6th Grade Initiative, where 150 AIA NJ architects visited 150 NJ schools across the state during Architecture Week to present the educational program that she developed and taught to our membership for rollout. Stacey has presented her best practices at the AIA Leadership Summit and the AIA National Convention.