Michael Kennedy

Policy Advisor

michael.kennedy@sdcounty.ca.gov

Michael Kennedy is a Registered Nurse, labor organizer, and health policy advocate with over 15 years of experience in healthcare. A native of Louisiana, Michael earned his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and his Master of Public Policy from UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, where his policy work focused on the effects of the built environment on public health—particularly for seniors and low-income communities. As a Registered Nurse in UC San Diego Health’s Neuro Intensive Care Unit and Chief Nurse Representative for the California Nurses Association, Michael has spent the past decade advocating for systemic change in healthcare.

As part of his master’s program, Michael completed a fellowship with the UC San Diego Labor Center, where he helped healthcare workers across San Diego organize for better working conditions and safe patient care.

Michael’s policy research was also featured at the UC San Diego Labor Center’s Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work, where he examined how finance and big tech are driving the shift toward outpatient and remote care models, fueling hospital service cuts, rural hospital closures, and the rapid expansion of remote monitoring and virtual care.

Michael manages the policy areas related to the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency.