Joseph Kennedy III

Congressman Joseph Kennedy III has dedicated his career to social and economic justice, fighting for the basic needs of every American family and a political system that is inclusive, representative, and fair. The U.S. Representative for Massachusetts’s 4th congressional district from 2013-2021, he ran for office to tackle the systemic inequities — from health care and housing to climate and education — that have left countless American families locked out and left behind.

Joe is currently the President of Citizens Energy, a diversified renewable energy non-profit dedicated to making clean energy more accessible and affordable. Since 1979, Citizens has helped low-income families and disadvantaged communities meet their basic needs, including utility bills. It has provided over $600 million in charitable benefits since its founding. He is also the founder of Groundwork Project, a political advocacy organization dedicated to supporting local community organizing efforts in historically under-resourced and disenfranchised regions of the country.

Most recently, Joe was U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs for President Joe Biden, a diplomatic post through which he focused on the long-standing U.S. commitment to peace, prosperity, and stability throughout the region. A former Peace Corps member, legal aid volunteer, and assistant district attorney, he has worked tirelessly for the people most at risk, most marginalized, and most in need.

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Kennedy is well-versed on the most pressing issues of the day and provides an insider’s look at current events, taking a thoughtful approach on how they may impact the country’s future. His presentations address the latest in politics, what’s next for the political landscape and the Democratic party, and his vision for a system that is representative and equal. With a constant focus on the most vulnerable among us, Kennedy brings a uniquely empathetic voice to our nation’s most vexing challenges.

Over his four terms in the House of Representatives, Kennedy emerged as a national figure in the Democratic Party’s most pivotal debates. From his headline-making fights for affordable health care and compassionate immigration policy to his legislative leadership on issues like mental health parity and civil rights, he became one of the Trump Era’s most powerful voices for moral clarity.

In Washington, Kennedy demonstrated a unique talent for building diverse coalitions and the political will to get things done. Sitting on the House Energy & Commerce Committee, he built an impressive legislative record in a polarized Washington — spearheading bipartisan efforts to extend mental health coverage for children and pregnant women, support the domestic manufacturing industry, protect consumer voices online, make hearing aids more affordable, and defend access to legal assistance for struggling families.

Prioritizing presence and accessibility for his constituents, Kennedy was known as the kind of elected official who calls, checks in, listens, and shows up. He held office hours in every community in his district, and championed local vocational schools, a growing clean energy sector, needed infrastructure, and the myriad issues that directly touch the families he represented. A rising political leader, Kennedy has seized the challenges of his generation, from his critique of American capitalism in its current form and his vision for a better foreign policy to his voice for religious liberty and climate justice. He has challenged the traditional political system with calls to end the Electoral College, abolish the filibuster, and reform the Supreme Court, and has traveled the country and Commonwealth in support of the future of the Democratic Party.

Kennedy was elected to Congress in 2012, after serving as an Assistant District Attorney in Massachusetts. He attended Stanford University and Harvard Law School and spent two years in the United States Peace Corps. The grandson of former United States Attorney General Robert Kennedy and great-nephew of President John F. Kennedy and former Senator Ted Kennedy, he is married to Lauren Birchfield Kennedy and they have two young children, Eleanor and James.

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