James Cleary received his Bachelor of Building Science and Bachelor of Architecture degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and his Master of Architecture from Yale University.
While at Rensselaer, his thesis project was selected as one of five winners in a nationwide competition for best undergraduate thesis. At Yale, he was nominated for the prestigious Feldman Prize and was chosen as the school's sole nominee to the international SOM Traveling Fellowship. Additionally, he was a finalist for the Rotch Traveling Scholarship.
He has been licensed to practice architecture in New York State since 1996, has taught in the architecture program at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and been featured on studio juries at Columbia University and Pratt Institute.
Cleary's work has been published in The New York Times, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Design Bureau, Forbes, Interior Design, Dwell, and Interiors, and has been featured on brownstoner.com, curbed.com, therealdeal.com, 6sf.com, and inhabitat.com