Ted Kennedy, Jr. is the Connecticut State Senator for the 12th District of Connecticut, representing Branford, North Branford, Guilford, Madison, Killingworth and parts of Durham. Ted is also a healthcare attorney, business entrepreneur, and lifelong advocate for people with disabilities. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University, Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and the University of Connecticut School of Law. Ted has lived in Branford for more than 20 years with his wife, Katherine “Kiki” Kennedy, M.D., an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University and an environmental activist. They have two children, Kiley and Teddy.
State Senator
In 2014, Ted was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly to serve as State Senator for the 12th district of Connecticut. Ted was appointed Senate Chair of the Environmental Committee and has worked diligently to protect our environment, passing nearly 40 bills over the last two years. Ted also serves on the Transportation, Public Health and Internship Committees. Ted’s number one priority is understanding and meeting the needs of his constituents, working to resolve hundreds of constituent cases, hosting regular “Open Office Hours” across the district, and constantly engaging in meaningful constituent conversations that provide insight and inspiration for his legislative efforts.
Health Policy Expert
In early 2014, Ted joined the national law firm of Epstein Becker & Green as a partner in its Health Care and Life Sciences practice. He advises clients on the critical legal and reimbursement policy issues related to the changes posed by healthcare reform. He provides counsel to healthcare providers, commercial insurers, and life science companies.
Successful Business Entrepreneur
Prior to joining Epstein Becker & Green, Ted co-founded the Marwood Group, a leading healthcare-focused strategic advisory and financial services firm. For over 10 years, he served as its president. Under Ted’s direction, the Marwood Group grew to become one of the leading healthcare advisory firms in the country, with more than 100 professionals and offices in New York, Washington, D.C., and London. Many of the nation’s foremost healthcare companies and trade associations have looked to the Marwood Group’s policy research and independent reports to understand the market trends and regulatory issues most important to business success.
Effective Healthcare Attorney
Before starting the Marwood Group, Ted worked as an attorney at the New Haven law firm of Wiggin & Dana. There, his health law practice focused primarily on state and federal regulatory and reimbursement issues affecting hospitals, homecare agencies, long-term care providers, physician practices, and mental health providers. Ted also represented individuals with disabilities and created an ADA compliance practice to help businesses develop effective policies and guidelines. In addition, he served as the Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs at the Connecticut Hospital Association, counseling acute care providers and policy makers on a wide array of emerging healthcare issues. Currently, Ted serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Health Law Section.
Leading Advocate for the Disabled
Ted was 12 years old in 1973 when he was diagnosed with bone cancer and his right leg was amputated. He underwent months of intensive physical therapy and was eventually able to resume an active life including learning how to ski using adaptive equipment. As a teenager, Ted trained with the U.S. Handicapped Ski Team and won several national medals. Ted remains an avid athletic enthusiast who still loves to ski, golf, and swim.
After his experiences with surgery, two years of chemotherapy , and learning how to walk with the use of a prosthesis, Ted understood how people like him faced a two-part struggle: the personal challenge of recovery and the public challenge of living in a society that did little to include people with disabilities.
Since then, Ted has been a committed advocate for the self-determination and civil rights of people with disabilities. He served on President Ronald Reagan’s Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities, working with businesses to expand jobs. He has lectured nationwide, and served as a study group leader on disability policy at Harvard University, and he worked with the bipartisan coalition of organizations in fighting for the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990.
Ted has been active on the boards of numerous cancer and disability organizations, including Special Olympics International, Connecticut’s Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities and, for the past 15 years, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country’s largest disability civil rights and public policy organization. Ted has presented keynote addresses both nationally and internationally on topics related to disability law, cancer, and healthcare policy.