Kathleen Jordan

About Kathleen Jordan

Kathleen Jordan, RA, NCARB, CID, joined Gensler in 1997 with a solid foundation in retail architecture and interiors experience. Her experience encompasses a broad range of project scope and scale. Having started her career as a part of an in-house retail design & construction staff, Kathleen\'s background provides a unique perspective into the retail planning & design process through the lens of product merchandising. Kathleen’s experience encompasses block planning, merchandising, and design oversight, managing project design implementation through the construction documentation process and the construction administration phase. At Gensler, Kathleen was promoted to Associate in 1998, to Senior Associate in and to Principal in 2005. Until January 2018, Kathleen was the Principal in charge of the Retail Practice in the New York office, a Firmwide Retail Practice Area leader, and the Firmwide Retail Task Force Research leader. Kathleen’s award-winning projects include the Adidas Flagship on 5th Avenue, Cadillac House, Primark at King of Prussia Mall, and Back 40 Mercantile in Old Greenwich, CT (Cathy Lee Gifford\'s favorite store). Kathleen’s work has been featured in prominent publications including Retail Design International and VMSD, and Design: Retail (formerly DDI) magazines. Kathleen has been a featured speaker at conferences internationally on topics ranging from “Shopping the Globe” to “Beyond the Flagship”, and has lectured at ICSC\'s Shopping Centers University at Wharton. Kathleen was selected by the readers of Design: Retail magazine as one of the top Retail Design Influencers of the Year for 2014, and in May 2017, she was inducted into the Retail Design Institute\'s Legion of Honor for her contributions to the retail industry. In 2018, she became a member of VMSD’s Editorial Advisory Board. After 20 years with Gensler in the Northeast Region, Kathleen relocated in Gensler’s Charlotte office in 2018 to lead their Retail and Lifestyle-focused practice. In 2021, she had the opportunity to join Neiman Marcus (a long-time client) as VP Store Design, Planning & Construction, where she focuses on bring the customer experience to life in the store environment.

Experience

1. Vice President, Retail Practice Delivery Leader

   NELSON Worldwide

   Jan 2026 — Present

Education

• Johns Hopkins University Advanced Academic Programs

  Master of Arts - MA, Cultural Heritage Management

• University of Michigan

  Bachelor of Science, Architecture

  1984 — 1988

Skills

• Retail Design
• Sustainability
• Store Design
• Planning
• Leed Ap
• Construction Documents
• Architectural Design
• Detailing
• Fixtures
• Photography
• Retail
• Interior Architecture
• Interior Design
• Merchandising
• Design Management