Kerry Kennedy

Mary Kerry Kennedy, born on September 8, 1959, in Washington, D.C., is an American lawyer, author, and human rights activist. She is a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, a former United States Senator, and Ethel Kennedy. Kennedy is a niece of John F. Kennedy, a former U.S. President, and Ted Kennedy, a former U.S. Senator.

Kennedy's early life included residence in McLean, Virginia, and Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. She was featured at age three in the 1963 documentary "Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment," during which she greeted Nicholas Katzenbach, then U.S. Justice Department official, via telephone from her father's office. Her father was serving as U.S. Attorney General at the time. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968.

She completed her education at The Putney School in Vermont and attended Brown University. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from Boston College Law School.

Kennedy began her work in human rights in 1981 as an intern with Amnesty International. During her internship, she investigated abuses by U.S. immigration officials targeting refugees from El Salvador during the Salvadoran Civil War. Over her career, she has engaged with human rights issues globally, including children's rights, child labor, disappearances, indigenous land rights, judicial independence, freedom of expression, ethnic violence, impunity, and environmental concerns.

In 1986, she founded the RFK Center Partners for Human Rights to promote protection under the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. The organization provides support to human rights defenders globally and campaigns against abuses such as torture, repression of free speech, and child labor. Kennedy established RFK Compass, focusing on sustainable investing, and the RFK Training Institute in Florence, Italy, for training human rights defenders.

Kennedy holds various leadership roles and board memberships. She is Chair of the Amnesty International USA Leadership Council and was appointed to the board of the United States Institute of Peace by President George W. Bush, a position confirmed by the U.S. Senate. She is also involved with organizations such as Human Rights First, Inter Press Service, and the International Campaign for Tibet. Additionally, she serves on advisory panels and committees related to human rights, criminal justice reform, and global activism.

In the realm of legal advocacy, Kennedy was engaged by Ecuadorean plaintiffs involved in a lawsuit against Chevron Corporation concerning environmental and health damages caused by oil extraction at the Lago Agrio oil field. She traveled to Ecuador in 2009 and later became publicly associated with the case through media articles. It was disclosed in 2012 that Kennedy had received payments from the plaintiffs, including a reported $50,000 in February 2010 and a share of the potential monetary award.

Kennedy has also been active in criminal justice reform initiatives. She publicly criticized the treatment of Kalief Browder, a teenager detained at Rikers Island, and campaigned for the passage of "Kalief's Law," which aimed to ensure more timely trials for defendants in pretrial detention. She helped post bail for Pedro Hernandez, a juvenile detained pretrial for over a year, leading to the eventual dropping of charges against him.

In response to immigration policies, Kennedy participated in the 'Break Bread Not Families' campaign beginning in June 2018. The initiative aimed to support family reunification and oppose the family separation policies enacted by the Trump administration. Participants in the campaign included notable political figures and celebrities; Kennedy herself was involved in protests and marches alongside activists and detainees.

In 2008, Kennedy edited "Being Catholic Now," a compilation of essays by prominent Americans on the subject of faith and change within the Catholic Church.

In 2018, she published "Robert F. Kennedy: Ripples of Hope," a book featuring interviews with influential figures reflecting on Robert F. Kennedy’s impact across various fields. The interviewees include Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Bono, and other leaders in entertainment, politics, faith, and activism.