Kennedy Mackey

Kennedy Mackey is a law student and student attorney with the Institute to End Mass Incarceration. Born in Richmond, Virginia, she graduated magna cum laude from Spelman College, majoring in political science and minoring in philosophy. At Harvard Law School, Kennedy is a student attorney and Outreach Director for Harvard Defenders where she provides free representation to low-income criminal defendants in show-cause hearings. She also serves as a court mediator with the Harvard Mediation Program.

Kennedy’s experience in the realm of social and political advocacy started in high school when she co-coordinated Richmond’s Never Again Student Protests Against Gun Violence in 2018. She continued similar work with organizations including Ignite, IMPACT Strategies, and Spelman NAACP. Through her work with the Institute to End Mass Incarceration and beyond, Kennedy plans to offer her legal career as a holistic resource for those routinely harmed, underserved, and ignored by the American legal system