Ken Sikkema

Ken Sikkema, Class of 1969

2022 Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Inductee

Career Achievements 

Ken Sikkema graduated from Hudsonville High School in 1969. He participated in sports throughout his four years at Hudsonville and was Valedictorian and President of the Student Council his senior year. Ken received a BA in History cum laude from Harvard University and an MBA with distinction from the University of Michigan. 

Ken got his start in politics right after college when he worked on a political campaign, which led to a job as a legislative assistant in the Michigan State Senate for four years. He then worked on environmental issues as the West Michigan Environmental Action Council Executive Director in Grand Rapids for three years. He left to pursue his master’s degree in business at the University of Michigan and became a marketing Manager for Herman Miller, Inc. in Zeeland in 1984. 

Ken was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1986 and served twelve years. While in the House, he served as Majority Floor Leader and as House Republican Leader in his last term. In 1998 he was elected to the Michigan Senate, where he served eight years as Senate Majority Leader during his final term. Ken is the only legislator in Michigan history to have served as leader of his caucus in both the House of Representatives and Senate. 

After leaving the Michigan legislature, Ken became a Senior Policy Fellow at Public Sector Consultants, a Lansing-based public policy research firm and think tank. During his sixteen years with Public Sector Consultants, he counseled governors and legislators on the issues of education, energy, health care, and the environment. He also taught political science at Grand Valley State University for three years as an adjunct professor. 

Ken and his wife Carla live in Grandville, close to their son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. He enjoys much of what West Michigan offers: golfing, fishing, canoeing, and Lake Michigan. He immensely appreciates his time at Hudsonville High School and credits the teaching, work ethic, and values of that experience as instrumental in his later success.