Commissioner
Recovery & Reentry
Holth was appointed commissioner of Recovery & Reentry by Governor Kelly Armstrong on January 7th, 2025, and is the first to serve in this cabinet position for the state. In his role as commissioner, Holth serves as a liaison between the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, the Office of the Governor, and local governments across the state, in an effort of operationalize the relationships between the state and local governments to ensure that citizens in recovery and citizens facing incarceration have fewer barriers and can better reintegrate into daily life as productive and healthy neighbors.
Prior to being appointed Commissioner, Holth served as the Managing Director for the Office of Recovery Reinvented, an office created by Executive Order by Governor Doug Burgum. In this role, Holth managed Recovery Reinvented, an initiative created by Gov. Burgum and First Lady Kathryn Burgum to eliminate the shame and stigma of the disease of addiction across the state of North Dakota.
Holth is a proud person in recovery who wears his recovery and his story on his sleeve. He has been in long-term recovery from alcohol use disorder for 17 years, one day at a time. In addition to his role with the state, Holth is a small business owner who has used his lived experience to create recovery-friendly workplaces in his businesses, and train and educate other business leaders across North Dakota so that they may better support their employees that are in recovery or experiencing reentry. Holth also spends time mentoring collegiate athletes in the areas of addiction, mental health, and business issues at the greatest university on earth, the University of North Dakota. He is a lifelong North Dakotan and has three daughters with his wife, Emily.