Rational 360 CEO and Managing Director Patrick Dorton and The Honorable Joseph P. Kennedy III Named Co-Chairs of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute Board of Directors

April 6, 2026 (Boston, MA) – The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate announced that The Honorable Joseph P. Kennedy III and Rational 360 CEO and Managing Director Patrick Dorton have been named Chairs of the organization’s Board of Directors during their March 2026 board meeting, succeeding former board chair Bruce A. Percelay, chairman and founder of The Mount Vernon Company. As members of the board since 2025 and 2015, respectively, Dorton and Kennedy will help guide the Kennedy Institute’s continued mission to foster common ground among political leaders, promote civil debate, and educate the public about the role of the Senate.

“We welcome the leadership of both Patrick and Joe, as they bring their deep experience and commitment as board members to promote the value and importance of bipartisanship, now more than ever,” notes Interim CEO Joe Hale. “We thank Bruce for his leadership of the board these past five years, as well as his dedication to advancing Senator Kennedy’s legacy of reaching across the aisle.”

Former Chairman of the Board Bruce Percelay added, The Kennedy Institute’s mission to educate and inspire the next generation of leaders becomes ever more vital as we mark the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding. I am so pleased to pass the torch on to Joe and Patrick.”

Dorton and Kennedy will lead a board that includes four former members of Congress, in addition to political and policy experts.

“I’m deeply honored to shepherd Senator Kennedy’s legacy of leadership and bipartisanship at the institute that bears his name, particularly since I was able to witness his ability to navigate Washington politics first-hand during my time in the White House,” said Dorton.

“I am grateful for the trust placed in me as a co-chair, and look forward to working alongside Patrick and my esteemed colleagues to further the Institute’s mission to promote civil and engaged civic discourse as the organization enters its second decade,” said former U.S. Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III. 

 

Patrick Dorton is one of Washington’s foremost public affairs campaign and crisis managers, navigating high-profile media firestorms nationally and internationally for Fortune 500 companies and organizations in the pharma, food, energy, defense, technology, health care, and financial sectors. He is a go-to Washington communications chief for congressional investigations and corporate crises, and has been named a key Washington insider by the National Journal and Politico. Dorton was Special Assistant to President Clinton and Communications Director for the White House National Economic Council. He served on the staffs of U.S. Senators Tom Harkin and Richard Shelby, and for former U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio. Dorton is an alumnus and Trustee of Middlebury College, and has been active as an independent school board trustee, including as the Chair of the Board for the Frederick Gunn School in Washington, CT.

A former Congressman, US Special Envoy, legal aid volunteer, and assistant district attorney, Joe Kennedy has dedicated his career to social and economic justice. Kennedy is currently the President of Citizens Energy, a diversified renewable energy non-profit dedicated to making clean energy more accessible and affordable for low-income families and disadvantaged communities. He is also the founder of Groundwork Project, a political advocacy organization dedicated to supporting local community organizing efforts in historically under-resourced and disenfranchised regions of the country. Kennedy was U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs for President Joe Biden, and served as the U.S. Representative for Massachusetts 4th congressional district from 2013-2021. Before his election to Congress, he worked as an assistant district attorney and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic. Kennedy is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School. 

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

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.