Kimberley Connors
Executive Director

Kimberley Connors took over as Executive Director of the Massachusetts Campaign for Single Payer Health Care on January 1 2024 from Stephanie Nakajima, Mass-Care’s ED since 2021, who moved to Copenhagen.

Connors, a Maynard resident, has a strong background in Massachusetts progressive politics and the Single Payer movement. She chairs the Maynard Democratic Committee and is a member of the Progressive Mass Issues Committee and Three Rivers Progressive Mass, where she was Chair. She has been part of several electoral campaigns, always candidates who support Single Payer, including Senator Ed Markey’s 2020 re-election campaign and Tami Gouveia’s 2022 campaign for Lieutenant Governor. Throughout this work, she has had a focus on Single Payer health care organizing. Connors has an MA in anthropology and occasionally teaches archaeology.

“This is my dream job,” Connors said. “Connecting grassroots organizations and engaging with people on the ground in every district is common to all my activism. I am looking forward to getting to work with a robust Board, wonderful volunteers, and the solid foundation they and Stephanie have built. I'm looking forward to Massachusetts passing Medicare for All and changing the lives of all of our residents.”

Connors’s interest in health care reform started in 2015 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. “While still in shock, and even before I had a treatment plan,” she said, “I was sent to the financial office to figure out my out-of-pocket costs. It was obvious that my insurance and ability to pay was more important than my prognosis. With the administrative redundancy and the subsequent, consistent denials of every claim, I felt like they were waiting to see if I would just die.

“After seeing the health care system from the bowels up, I realized just how much profits are placed over people. This made me want to fight for the next patient, especially for those who don't have great insurance and are left in the dark as to what is and isn’t covered. I read everything on Single Payer I could get my hands on while recovering between my treatments. This led to my testifying on Beacon Hill for Medicare for All and then against then-Gov. Baker’s proposed cuts to MassHealth. Since then, the Medicare for All movement has been a passionate focus of my political and personal life. I organized numerous Medicare for All forums, including ones with Dr. Don Berwick and Sen. Jamie Eldridge. I have served as the moderator and as a patient panelist.”