Gov. Mark Dayton has appointed Kate Knuth — a former legislator who now works at the University of Minnesota — to a two-year term on the state Environmental Quality Board.
Knuth, of New Brighton, had served three terms in the House but didn't seek re-election last year, when redistricting shifted her district.
In the Legislature, she was a strong advocate of environmental issues, working to mitigate climate change. She has degrees from the University of Chicago and Oxford.
The governor's office said she now works as director of the Boreas Leadership Program at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment and is a graduate student in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences.
The EQB is composed of the governor’s office, the heads of nine state agencies, and five citizen members. Knuth is one of the citizen members. The board develops plans and policies and reviews projects that have potential for impacting the quality of Minnesota’s environment.