Ken Johnsen

Salish Sea Champion
Ken Johnsen

Ken Johnsengrew up on Three Tree Point, west of SeaTac. He went to Highline High School. He graduated from Western Washington University with a degree in Urban and Regional Planning. His first 11 years out of college were with the Port of Portland. For 3 of those years, he was Manager of the Port’s Planning and Research department. His last 3 years, he was the Director of Development. In 1986, Ken became Owner and Principal of Shiels Obletz Johnsen, Inc. (SOJ). SOJ is a Project Management firm that specializes in complex urban development projects. SOJ has offices in Portland and Seattle. Ken worked in Portland for 10 years. Ken came back to Seattle in 1996 to serve as the Executive Director of the Public Facilities District formed to build Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners. He managed all aspects of that project from start to finish.

Since Safeco Field, Ken has managed several major civic development projects including:

  • Seattle City Hall
  • Seattle Justice Center
  • ShoWare Event Center in Kent
  • Pike Place Market Renovation
  • Pike Place Market Front
  • King Street Station Renovation

Ken also played an important role in the transformation of South Lake Union, first in helping develop the Mayor’s South Lake Union Action Agenda and then managing the South Lake Union Streetcar project.

For the past several years, Ken has been heavily involved with the Seattle’s Central Waterfront Project – Waterfront Seattle. The project extends 2 miles along the shores of Elliott Bay. The removal of the Alaska Way Viaduct and replacement of the Elliott Bay Seawall project is a tremendous opportunity to reconnect Seattle’s Waterfront to the rest of the City. A concept design and funding program for the project were approved by the Seattle City Council in 2014. Ken led the design and engineering team that prepared the Waterfront plan. He then managed the $400 million City Seawall Replacement project, completed in 2017.

Ken is currently serving as the project manager for the Seattle Aquarium’s $113 million Ocean Pavilion project. He is also serving as Project Manager for the Seattle Opera’s $60million “Opera at the Center” project.