Jim Dykstra
Jim Dykstra grew up on a small dairy farm in Sheboygan County, WI. He attended a one-room grade school and a small rural high school before attending the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, from which he graduated in 1968. Shortly after college graduation, he was drafted, serving as a military journalist, including service in Vietnam as a combat correspondent with the 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division.
Jim moved to Washington, DC for a job on Capitol Hill as press secretary and legislative assistant to his home congressman, Rep. Bill Steiger (R-WI) a year after his return from Vietnam. He has five decades of experience in senior positions on Capitol Hill, in the executive branch and in the private sector. Jim has concentrated on foreign policy and defense issues and has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs (Senate) and as Republican Staff Director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
While working for the United States Congress, Jim held positions in the Senate and House of Representatives as Chief of Staff, Committee Staff Director and Professional Staff Member, Legislative Director, Legislative Assistant, and Press Secretary. Since leaving government service, he has specialized in federal program and funding issues, including advocacy on behalf of international educational exchange programs.
A graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Managers in Government Program, Jim is past president of the House of Representatives Chiefs of Staff Alumni Association and continues as a member of its board. While on the Hill, he was on the board of the House Administrative Assistants Association. In recognition of his leadership positions during his public service career, he was selected in its inaugural class as a Stennis Fellow by the Stennis Center for Public Service. Jim has served as a mentor in the Stennis Center’s Emerging Leaders Program since its inception. He has mentored 15 young professional staffers over the course of the program’s 13 Congresses since its inception.
Jim has received the Distinguished Alumni Award and, earlier, the Distinguished Young Alumni Award from the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, from which he graduated Magna Cum Laude. Prior to moving to Washington to take a position on Capitol Hill, Jim was a reporter for the Stevens Point (WI) Daily Journal and the Sheboygan (WI) Press.
Jim is a recipient of the Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam. He has also received the Defense Department’s Outstanding Public Service Medal and the Central Intelligence Agency’s Agency Seal Medallion. Jim was honored in 2020 by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which named him as an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau, conferred by the government on those who have made contributions of national or international significance.
Jim is a board member of the Netherland-America Foundation. He is a member of the Washington, DC Chapter leadership group and for a decade chaired the dinner committee for the annual Netherland-America Foundation Ambassadors’ Awards Dinner in Washington, DC. He is a member of the selection committee for Dutch students who are recipients of scholarship assistance from funds raised at that dinner for summer study/internships in Washington, DC and serves on the NAF internship committee.
Jim serves as Clerk of Session at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Arlington, VA, and as a member of its session. In addition, he is active in the church’s Outreach Ministry. He and his wife, the former Susan Pitts, reside in McLean, VA. They have two adult sons, Case and Gregory.
He established the Jim Dykstra First Generation Freshman Scholarship endowment 2024.