Edward M. Kennedy Institute Announces Changes to Senior Leadership Team Effective March 2026

 

Joe Hale Named Interim Chief Executive Officer

Public Media Veteran Olivia Wong Named Chief Marketing and Communications Officer

Sarah Yezzi Elevated to Chief Education Officer

March 31, 2026 (Boston, MA) –

The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate today announced leadership changes effective immediately. Joe Hale succeeds Adam Hinds, who left the organization in December 2025, as CEO on an interim basis. Sarah Yezzi, who has been with the Kennedy Institute since it opened in 2015, has been promoted to the position of Chief Education Officer. Olivia Wong, joins the Kennedy Institute as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. Both Yezzi and Wong will report to Interim CEO Joe Hale as the Board of Directors begin the search for a permanent CEO in the coming months. 

The new leadership team together will continue to uphold the Kennedy Institute’s mission to foster bipartisanship among political leaders, promote civil debate, and educate the public about the role of the Senate.

“Sarah’s deep experience in educational content development and Olivia’s strategic communications expertise make for a perfect combination as we reimagine our public offerings and access for the Kennedy Institute as we enter our second decade,” said Hale. “I look forward to working closely with the team to ensure the organization’s future.”

Wong added, “Senator Kennedy’s legacy of leadership and bipartisanship is more important than ever as we continue to seek a more perfect union. I’m deeply honored to shepherd the Institute’s mission to promote the value of civil engagement and finding common ground.”

“I look forward to continuing to expand our vital educational work to build the civic knowledge and skills of young people and cultivate a greater understanding of the power of civic discourse both in-person and virtually for communities across the country,” said Yezzi. 

 

Prior to joining the Kennedy Institute, Joe Hale was President of The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, leading the $200 million campaign to undertake the first significant renovation in the museum’s 40-year history. Previously, he served as Executive Director of The Dreamland, Nantucket’s year-round cultural center. Hale also served as Founder and President of The Global BrightLight Foundation, the largest NGO in the world at the time that provided solar lanterns to off grid families in developing countries.  Hale also served as Vice President & Chief Communications Officer of Cinergy Corp. (now Duke Energy), as President of Cinergy Foundation, and as President of Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company.

Olivia Wong comes to the Kennedy Institute with over two decades of experience working in non-profit education and public media corporate capacities, including as Vice President, Marketing and Communications from 2021-2024 at American Public Television, the leading syndicator of content to public television stations. She also worked in content and institutional promotion at public media flagship stations GBH Boston and WETA Washington, D.C. on local productions and PBS national series including Masterpiece, Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., NOVA, and American Experience. A graduate of Brown University, Wong is the co-recipient of a 2012 PR News Digital PR Award for Downton Abbey‘s Digital PR Campaign. 

Sarah Yezzi is responsible for overseeing all education experiences, programming, and curriculum at the Kennedy Institute, including the flagship Senate Immersion Module program offered to secondary school and college students. She also focuses on educational outreach and collaboration with institutional partners in civic education. Yezzi has worked in school publishing, corporate training, and children’s media and has over 30 years experience developing digital platforms, classroom resources, and interactive programs for social studies educators and students. Sarah is a graduate of Boston College and holds an M.Ed. in Instructional Technology from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

 

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About the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United State Senate

The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate actively inspires all Americans to keep our Founded in 2015, the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate is dedicated to educating the public about the important role of the Senate in our government, encouraging participatory democracy, invigorating civil discourse, and inspiring the next generation of citizens and leaders to engage in the civic life of their communities. Home to the only full-scale replica of the United States Senate in the world, the Kennedy Institute also facilitates experiential civic education programs that has to date served nearly 200,000 students nationally. Learn more at emkinstitute.org.