MEET THE CANDIDATE
About Andrew Kollar
Andrew William John Kollar is an American businessman running for Massachusetts State Representative of the 18th Middlesex District as a member of the Democratic Party.
Early Life and Education
Kollar was born and raised in suburban Long Island, NY. Growing up in a conservative household, Andrew learned quickly the values of academic achievement, hard work, living within ones means, considering opinions differing from one’s own, respectfully articulating counterpoint positions, and engaging in civil debate. As a teenager, he worked in the Public Library, and became active with the North Bellmore Civic Association, a local neighborhood organization that met there monthly. This led to his receipt of the Nassau County Legislative Student Citizenship Award in 2004. Andrew graduated that year with Honors from Wellington C. Mepham High School.
Kollar proceeded to study Architecture at Philadelphia University (since merged with Thomas Jefferson University), earning a Bachelor of Architecture degree with a minor concentration in Architectural Theory & History. He spent one (1) semester studying abroad at the American University of Rome in Italy.
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Professional Career
Kollar is a Registered Architect with a license to practice in six (6) states: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Hampshire. He is the Principal of Fused Studios P.C., a small firm designing projects for residential, commercial, government, and non-profit clients.
Kollar has supported his professional organization, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), through service on committees at the National, State, and Local levels. In 2017 he chaired the Codes & Standards Committee; AIA’s lobbyist at the time anecdotally remarked that Andrew was likely the youngest person to chair a National committee in its storied history. This tenure segued into co-chairing the Boston Society for Architecture (BSA)’s Codes Committee through 2022. He served tangentially on the International Code Council’s (ICC) Building Code Action Committee (BCAC), the Coastal Construction Subcommittee of the Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations & Standards (BBRS), and in a consulting capacity to other Standards Developing Organizations. Kollar served as part of the Technical Advisory Group for the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD)’s Designing for Natural Hazards: A Guide for Builders & Developers, a free-to-download five-volume guide to improve resilience in the built environment nationwide.
Following superstorm Sandy’s devastating effects in New York and New Jersey, Kollar prioritized specialized training, and certifications to better address community resiliency. These include HURRIPLAN Resilient Building Design for Coastal Communities, the California Office of Emergency Services’ (Cal OES) Safety Assessment Program (SAP), and New York’s Code Enforcement Disaster Assistance Response Program (CEDAR). Kollar is registered as a Second Responder with the Disaster Response Alliance, and a MA Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program Provider.
Committed to a sustainable future, Kollar is also a PHIUS Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC), and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Associate.
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Local Service
In 2016, Kollar phone banked to support the local “Yes on 3” campaign (Massachusetts Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Referendum). Kollar hangs a multilingual “Hate Has No Home Here” sign in his office, and believes strongly in upholding civil liberties. Human dignity shall be respected.
Kollar served on the City of Lowell’s Sustainability Council from 2017-2019. As Subcommittee Chair for National Grid’s Lowell Area Gas Modernization Project, he worked diligently to research, analyze, and scrutinize each publicly available document related to the project. This was supplemented with data from the Pipeline & Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA), the Pipeline Safety Division (the enforcement arm of the MA Department of Public Utilities), and other available scholarly research. The outcome of this work was a series of detailed questions regarding safety concerns, the physical condition of the existing pipeline, inspection methodology, the environmental and economic impacts, the projected energy demand, project alternatives, the potential for future expansion, the project timeline and approvals, and the project’s alignment with the City of Lowell’s Sustainable Lowell 2025 masterplan. These were provided to the Lowell City Council and City Manager for presentation to National Grid. Other topics Kollar was involved with included the Pay as You Throw (PAYT) / Save as You Throw (SAYT) initiative considered by the Lowell Solid Waste & Recycling Office, expansion of the City’s Complete Streets and Bicycle Mobility efforts, Community Choice Aggregation, and the Solarize Lowell campaign to promote the benefits of solar power combined with heat pump technology. Kollar also organized the Green Awards Program.
Having supported various Local and State political campaigns through fundraising and outreach efforts since moving to this Community, Kollar believes now is the time to bring a service-oriented Architect, and proven Leader to Beacon Hill.
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Personal Life
Kollar married his college sweetheart Rachel in 2010, and started a life together in Bloomfield, NJ. They moved to Lowell’s Highlands neighborhood in 2015, and purchased a home there in 2017. They have two children: Cecilia (b.2021), and Sebastian (b.2023). Kollar is an avid reader, preferring works of non-fiction, biography, and philosophy interspersed with the occasional comic book / graphic novel.
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