Board of Directors
As an independent public financing authority, the Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority is governed by a Board of Directors. There are 13 members serving on the MnCIFA Board, representing a range of communities and organizations, as designated in MnCIFA statute. The members are appointed by the Governor and serve limited terms.
Board meeting updates can be found here.
Board Chair and Vice Chair
The Board of Directors elects a chair and vice-chair by majority vote of the members present.
Board Chair: Bali Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, PACE Loan Group
Board Vice Chair: Tessa Haagenson, Vice President of Power Supply and Business Development, Connexus Energy
Board Committees
Executive Committee
Chair: Board chair - Bali Kumar
Members: Board Vice Chair - Tessa Haagenson, Credit Committee Chair – Julia Nelmark
Credit Committee
Chair: Julia Nelmark
Members: Melanie Benjamin, Joe Fowler, Kevin McKinnon, Marcus Mills, Axaule Sultanova, Katherine Teiken
Governance Committee
Chair: Bali Kumar
Members: Frank Kohlasch, Marcus Mills, Kate Perushek
Committees for Strategic Planning and Investment Strategy*
2024 Co-chairs: Katherine Teiken, Jenna Warmuth
2024 Members: Tessa Haagenson, Frank Kohlasch, Kevin McKinnon, Marcus Mills, Kate Perushek, Axaule Sultanova, Pete Wyckoff
*These committees are currently inactive. They will be reactivated, with new chairs and members, when revisions are required for strategic planning (every 4 years) and investment strategy (every 2 years).
Direct Appointments
Six appointees are direct appointments by organizations, with board member appointees as follows:
Minnesota Commerce Commissioner, or designee:
Pete Wyckoff , Deputy Commissioner, Energy Resources Division, Minnesota Department of Commerce
Minnesota Labor and Industry Commissioner, or designee:
Kate Perushek, Deputy Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry
Minnesota Pollution Control Commissioner, or designee:
Frank Kohlasch, Assistant Commissioner for Air and Climate Policy, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Minnesota Employment and Economic Development Commissioner, or designee:
Kevin McKinnon, Deputy Commissioner, Economic Development and Research, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Commissioner, or designee:
Katherine Teiken, Climate Policy Director, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council Chair or designee:
Melanie Benjamin, former Chief Executive for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Representative Appointments
Seven additional members appointed by the governor are representatives in the following areas:
Municipal electric utility or cooperative electric association:
Tessa Haagenson, Vice President of Power Supply and Business Development, Connexus Energy
Labor organization, representing a labor union with experience working on clean energy projects:
Joe Fowler, Business Manager, Construction & General Laborers Union Local 563
Expertise in impact of climate change on Minnesota communities, particularly low-income communities:
Jenna Warmuth, Senior Manager, Midwest Regional Policy, Rewiring America
Expertise in financing projects at a community bank, credit union, community development institution, or local government:
Julia Nelmark, President and CEO, Midwest Minnesota Community Development Corporation; CEO, White Earth Investment Initiative
Expertise in sustainable development and energy conservation:
Axaule Sultanova, Digital Services Account Engineer, Trane Technologies
Expertise in environmental justice:
Marcus Mills, Consultant; Owner, At Your Finger Tips
Expertise in investment fund management or financing and deploying clean energy technologies:
Bali Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, PACE Loan Group
For more about board appointments and members, visit the Minnesota Secretary of State Boards & Commissions:
MnCIFA Board of Directors.