Joe Kennedy III

Joe Kennedy III Profile Photo

Politician / Diplomat / Social Entrepreneur / Lawyer

Over four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, Joseph Kennedy III built an impressive legislative record around economic policy, health care, and civil rights. Representing a district that spanned from the suburbs of Boston to the proud post-industrial communities along Massachusetts’ South Coast, Mr. Kennedy sat on the House Energy & Commerce committee and spearheaded bipartisan efforts to extend mental health coverage, support the domestic manufacturing industry, protect consumer voices online, make hearing aids more affordable, and defend access to legal assistance for struggling families.

From 2022 through 2024 he served as U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs.

Today, Mr. Kennedy also serves as Managing Director at Citizens Energy, a non-profit energy company founded to help low-income families meet their basic energy needs. Through innovative programming, Citizens has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to benefit millions of families across the United States. He is the founder of Groundwork Project, an advocacy organization dedicated to supporting local community organizing efforts in under-resourced and historically disenfranchised communities. He also serves on the boards of the Woodwell Climate Research Center, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.

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 in the Dominican Republic. 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 and a dog, Banjo.

Sept. 7, 2025

Joe Kennedy III: Politics, Peace & Public Service - Belfast, Boston & Beyond

In something of an epilogue to our “Lost in Belfast” series, former U.S. Congressman and U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland Joseph Kennedy III joins Irish Stew for a wide-ranging conversation on politics, peace, and publi...