Kathy Hoekstra

Development Communications Officer

A broadcast journalist by trade, I already knew the value of sharing with radio and television audiences the stories of real people—people facing long odds, tragedy, or, alternatively, doing good things for citizens in need.

Then I joined the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and discovered the degree to which government policies trample the rights of everyday citizens. The worst part for me? Government restricts our freedoms—using our own hard-earned tax dollars.

This moral outrage, combined with my writing skills and video production know-how, brought to life the stories of the good people in my home state of Michigan whose lives and livelihoods were being harmed by bad government policies. People like home daycare providers who unwittingly became state employee union members. Small business owners who watched helplessly as the state tossed their tax dollars at Hollywood producers and actors to lure movie-making to Michigan.

I consider it a privilege to bring to PLF my abilities and zeal in fighting back against government overreach and abuse , as I work closely with both the development and communications teams. Whether it’s website or email copy, a newsletter or op-ed, or a grant proposal, I make sure everything that comes from my keyboard shares our clients’ courageous journeys in standing up to Big Government Bullies and how they’re empowered to do so through the relentless work of the entire PLF staff.

PLF was already well-established as the nation’s premier pro-liberty law firm before my hire in 2017. But in the few short years since joining PLF, two things have become clear: No one at PLF is content to rest on past success, which is good, because government will never rest from finding new ways to skirt the rule of law at the expense of individual liberty.

When I’m not cheering on my alma mater, the University of Michigan, binging on high-end television, or hiking our country’s astounding national parks, you’ll find me hunkered over my keyboard in the office of my Saginaw Township, Michigan, home, where I live with my husband.