Gender and Executive Leadership: Are We Ready for a Woman President? Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is the eldest child of Ethel and Robert Kennedy and recently served two terms as Maryland's first woman lieutenant governor from 1995-2003. She lost an election to become Maryland's first woman governor in 2002. Before becoming lieutenant governor, Townsend served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice, where she worked to establish community-policing programs across the country. She currently is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's School of Public Policy and president of Operation Respect, a nationwide character education program that teaches personal and social responsibility.