About Ky Holland
I grew up on the hillside, I went to O’Malley Elementary and graduated from Service-Hashew. After high school I graduated from Oregon State University with a mechanical engineering degree. I started my career, earned my professional engineering license, married my wife Sharon of 38 years, and we started a family with 2 wonderful kids who are now through college working as an aircraft mechanic and university staff. My wife and I started attending our local community neighborhood association in the 80s quickly taking on leadership roles working on the issues that mattered most, something we still do today.
We moved back home, and have called Alaska home again, for more than 25 years. I’ve led and worked with our local community councils on community plans, wildfire resilience, and neighborhood public safety plans. Sharon started volunteering at our kid's elementary school library and completed a graduate school program for library science and received her Alaska Librarian Certification. She has been known as “Ms. Sharon the Librarian at Aquarian” for almost 20 years.
Over time I moved into professional leadership positions and gained experience in marketing, quality systems, logistics, and business unit and manufacturing plant management.
I’ve spent 40 years working in technical and business roles with industrial products in the mining, construction, oil and gas, and manufacturing industries. I know what it means to build and power Alaska and want to bring that experience to the legislature. I traveled around the world helping customers and manufacturing plants produce the products that I helped design. Over time I moved into professional leadership positions and gained experience in marketing, quality management, operations, logistics, business unit management and manufacturing plant management.
I have also been lucky enough to work at UAA and APU as an assistant professor, as well as UAF as the Technology Commercialization Officer, and UAS as a contractor. I’ve worked with AVTEC, Alaskan apprenticeship training centers, military personnel education and transition programs, and high school CTE programs. I know our higher education system well including the talented faculty, staff, and students. Working with Alaskans who will be our future business leaders and owners has been extremely rewarding. I have spent the last decade working with students, business owners, and startups to build our future Alaska. Helping over 70 Alaskan businesses launch, grow, and build our workforce. I know what it takes to build, invest, and attract businesses in Alaska. I am ready to get our economy back on track by supporting our local businesses and expanding our economy.
My dedication to Alaska did not start with this race, I am running to continue the work I have been doing and end our state’s economic stagnation and population decline. I want us to stop talking about schools closing, gas shortages, and outmigration, all we are talking about is how we will manage the decline of our state.
I am committed to ensuring Alaska's prosperous future, focusing on four major areas: emerging industries, inspiring education, reliable and affordable energy, and securing critical infrastructure.