Honoree

 

MRS. VICTORIA REGGIE KENNEDY is senior counsel in the corporate and securities practice group at the international law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP. She advises clients on governmental and regulatory issues and assists them in devising strategies for the resolution of complex business problems.

 

She is President of the Board and co-founder of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, a non-partisan organization in Boston. The Mission of the Kennedy Institute to educate the public about the unique role of the United States Senate in our democracy, encourage participatory democracy, invigorate civil discourse and inspire the next generation of citizens and leaders to engage in the civic life of their communities.

 

Kennedy is a Trustee (Presidential Appointment) of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where she chairs its Education Committee and is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management, a lay initiative to assist Catholic Church parishes, church organizations and religious orders promote excellence and best practices in management, finances and human resource development.

 

Kennedy is a Member of the Commission on Political Reform, a project of the Bi-Partisan Policy Center launched in March 2013 to investigate the causes and consequences of America’s partisan political divide and to advocate for specific reforms.

 

In addition to her law practice, board service and non-profit leadership roles, Kennedy has served in key strategic and political roles on issues ranging from health, education, economic opportunity and involvement in the political process. She has been a leading voice on the empowerment of women and girls in our society and is an advocate for expanding medical research and for access to health care to all Americans. She was actively involved in the passage of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and stood at President Obama's side at the signing of the bill into law.

 

She has received numerous honors and awards: the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Pinnacle Award for Lifetime Achievement (2016); the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers of America Award for Activism and Advocacy (2015); the Women's Guild of Cedars Sinai Hospital Woman of the 21st Century Award (2013); the Susan G. Komen Honoring the Promise Betty Ford Lifetime Achievement Award (2013); the national Mother's Day Council Outstanding Mother Award (2010); and many other community awards.

 

Kennedy has received honorary doctoral degrees from Boston University, Northeastern University, Montclair State University, University of Massachusetts Boston, Lesley University, Emmanuel College, Western New England University and Suffolk University Law School. She also has been honored by the University of Massachusetts Boston as a Distinguished Professor and Mentor.

 

Kennedy received a JD, summa cum laude, from Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans and was elected to the Order of the Coif. She was a member of the Board of Editors and the Notes Editor of the Tulane Law Review. She earned a BA in English, magna cum laude, from Newcomb College at Tulane University and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.