Ken Johnson was born and raised in Green Bay and is a life long resident of Wisconsin. He received a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 1975 from the University of Wisconsin. He has worked for the Illinois Division of Water Resources, Mead & Hunt Consulting Engineers, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Mr. Johnson began with the Department in 1977 as an engineer in the Drinking and Ground Water Program in the Lake Michigan District. He was also as an engineer in the Water Regulation and Zoning Program and an Assistant Chief with the Water Regulation Section. From 1996 until 2005, he was the Lower Rock River Basin Supervisor working out of the South Central Region (SCR) of the DNR. In 2005, Mr. Johnson was appointed to the SCR Water Leader Position. In April of 2011, he accepted his current position of Water Division Administrator.

Mr. Johnson was appointed to the Board of the Great Lakes Protection Fund in October of 2011.