Barbara B. Kennelly (born Barbara Ann Bailey in Hartford, Connecticut, to prominent Democratic leader John M. Bailey) is a senior Democratic figure and attorney. Raised in a family deeply involved in Connecticut Democratic politics, she married attorney James J. Kennelly (deceased 1995), former Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives (1975–1979), with whom she had four children: daughters Eleanor, Barbara, and Louise; son John; and twelve grandchildren. She earned a BA in economics from Trinity Washington University (1958), a certificate from the Harvard-Radcliffe Program in Business Administration (1959), and an MA in government from Trinity College, Connecticut (1971). Her political career began on the Hartford Court of Common Council (1975–1979). She served as the first woman to hold the position of Connecticut's Secretary of the State and as U.S. Representative for Connecticut's 1st district (1982–1999), where she was a member of the Ways and Means Committee (including subcommittees on Human Resources and Select Revenue Measures) and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (from 1987), and served as Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus (1995–1999). She was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Connecticut in 1998, losing to John G. Rowland. Post-Congress, she was appointed Associate Commissioner and Counselor to the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration by President Bill Clinton (1999), worked as an attorney at Baker & Hostetler, served as President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (2002–2011), was a member of the Social Security Advisory Board (appointed by Nancy Pelosi in 2006; reappointed 2012), became Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Trinity Washington University (2011), founded Barbara Kennelly Associates (a consulting firm focused on federal legislative strategies), and served as President of the United States Association of Former Members of Congress. She is also a board member of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (as of 2015). Kennelly was involved in the 1992 House bank overdraft scandal (60 overdrafts), though no personal misconduct allegations were made against her.