Joseph P. Kennedy II

As the oldest son of Robert F. Kennedy and a former Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts, Joseph P. Kennedy is a member of a family that is the closest thing to American royalty. But his passion for improving the world in which we live goes beyond the trappings of his famous name; he now applies his political and business savvy to the nonprofit world, where he is working to solve socio-economic issues from within the private sector.

Since his days on Capitol Hill, Kennedy has shaped his career around exploring the ways in which the private sector, rather than government agencies, can help communities achieve economic growth and prosperity. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kennedy's many initiatives included expanding the availability of credit to working Americans, helping create affordable housing units through tax credits, overhauling federal public housing law, and preserving and expanding federal research and development accounts that in turn created new technologies, jobs, and growth.

Kennedy noted that, far too often, politicians paid lip service to socio-economic issues that were plaguing the nation. He decided that the time for talk was over, and he needed to take action. In response, he founded Citizens Energy Corporation, a private sector initiative to provide affordable and renewable energy to people with limited financial resources. With Citizens Energy Corporation, Kennedy created a new paradigm built around an entrepreneurial and non-partisan approach. By working directly with crude oil producers and refiners, he has enacted a worldwide oil network that is both sustainable and cost efficient. Citizens' oil heat program serves low-income customers in over 20 states and the District of Columbia and is pursuing renewable energy projects involving wind and geothermal generation.