Frank Kohlasch has served as assistant commissioner for air and climate policy since January 2023. He brings 26 years of state service and extensive leadership within MPCA’s air programs, most recently serving as the MPCA climate director since 2019. In this role, he helped implement and sits on Minnesota’s Climate Subcabinet and Advisory Council on Climate Change, coordinated agency climate policies, and led the development of Minnesota’s Climate Action Framework identifying mitigation and resilience policies and strategies centered around equity.

Frank joined the MPCA in 1996 as an environmental analyst and served as manager for the agency’s Air Assessment Section, where he led agency experts in collecting, analyzing, and using air quality and greenhouse gas information to guide state actions. He holds leadership positions on several state and national committees, including president of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies.