Barbara B. Kennelly

Barbara B. Kennelly became President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare in April 2002 after a distinguished 23-year career in elected public office. The Congresswoman served eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the First District of Connecticut.

Mrs. Kennelly was the first woman elected to serve as Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, the first woman to serve on the House Committee on Intelligence and to chair one of its subcommittees, the first woman to serve as Chief Majority Whip, and the third woman in history to serve on the 200 year old Ways and Means Committee.

During the 105th Congress, she was the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Social Security. After serving in Congress, Mrs. Kennelly was appointed to the position of Counselor to the Commissioner at the Social Security Administration. Upon leaving the Social Security Administration, Mrs. Kennelly joined the law firm of Baker & Hostetler LLP, where she was a lobbyist.

Congresswoman Kennelly received a B.A. in Economics from Trinity College, Washington D.C. She earned a certificate from the Harvard Business School on completion of the Harvard-Radcliffe Program in Business Administration, and a Master’s Degree in Government from Trinity College, Hartford. Mrs. Kennelly is a former Secretary of the State of Connecticut.