B. Karina Ruiz AIA, NOMA, LEED AP

Karina Ruiz is one of the founding Principals of BRIC Architecture in Portland, OR.  She served as the 2019 Chair of the AIA Committee on Architecture for Education, is a founding Board Member and President of NOMA PDX and sits on the board of Arquitina. She is the epitome of the firm’s tagline of Building Relationships and Inspiring Communities.

Karina has focused her 30-year career on the design of innovative learning environments. She has designed and managed over $1 billion in educational projects throughout her career, many which have earned numerous local, regional and national design awards, including two James D. MacConnell Awards. Karina is actively engaged in the national dialogue on the intersection between pedagogy, design innovation and equity. Additionally, as the educational facility planning lead for BRIC Architecture, Inc., Karina inspires their educational planning, community engagement, and design efforts to create a more equitable, just and humane world.

As a Latina Architect, Karina believes strongly that we must provide mirrors and windows to often marginalized communities that have historically been underrepresented in this field and works actively to introduce this field to young girls like her. She was a contributing author of Latinas in Architecture, an anthology of compelling highs and lows, and sometimes shocking, life stories of multicultural Latina women in the field of architecture.  Her leadership is based in the ardent belief that design can be a partner to pedagogy to more equitably serve the needs of our learners. It is her goal to design schools that empower learners to change the world.