It took the pandemic and the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor to witness a rise in collective consciousness in America despite generations of underrepresented people being treated as invisible. In this talk, Charlene Wheeless, Senior Advisor, Equity & Justice, APCO Worldwide and Licy Do Canto, APCO’s Managing Director, Washington DC will share stories and tactical guides on how they managed to become visible as they rose in corporate America and beyond. Charlene will share anecdotes about her work at the top of America’s largest companies, her battle with cancer, and her new book “You Are Enough!”. Licy, a PowerToFly advisor and frequent keynote speaker will guide the conversation while revealing how he has grown his career while lifting so many others. Audience questions are welcome!
Diversity Reboot Summit
KEYNOTE: Becoming Visible To Rise In Your Career And To Fight Injustice In Corporate America
Meet The Speakers
Charlene A. Wheeless, senior advisor for equity and justice at APCO Worldwide, is the former principal vice president of global corporate affairs for Bechtel Corporation. Ms. Wheeless was responsible for global communications, issues and reputation management, sustainability, stewardship and public affairs. She served on the company’s ethics and knowledge management committees, as well as the boards of the Bechtel PAC and Bechtel Group Foundation.
Before joining Bechtel in 2009, Ms. Wheeless was vice president of communications for the Intelligence and Information Systems (IIS) business unit of Raytheon Company as well as the site executive of its Falls Church, Va. facility. In these positions she oversaw global public relations, advertising, media relations, marketing communications, employee communications, and community relations and served as the lead executive, responsible for facility operations, security and quality audits, and employee morale.
Prior to her years with Raytheon, Ms. Wheeless was senior vice president of global communications and marketing for American Management Systems (AMS) and corporate vice president of communications at DynCorp. She also held executive and staff positions with PRC, Inc. (later acquired by Northrop Grumman Corporation), Steuart Petroleum Company, and IBM Corporation.
Ms. Wheeless was recently named by PRWeek magazine one of the 50 most influential PR professionals in the industry, for the third consecutive year.
Licy Do Canto, a veteran of public policy, corporate strategy, health care communications and diversity and inclusion, is managing director of APCO Worldwide’s Washington D.C. office headquarters and mid-Atlantic region lead. A well respected expert in public health and health care policy, with nearly three decades of experience at the international, national, state and local levels across the nonprofit, philanthropic, corporate and government sectors, Mr. Do Canto is an accomplished, values-driven leader with unparalleled experience in developing and leading integrated public affairs campaigns combining strategic communications, public relations, political/legislative initiatives, policy, coalition building, grassroots efforts and advocacy. Mr. Do Canto has held a wide range of positions and has worked across diverse sectors and industries over the course of his successful career, making him uniquely qualified to understand and support leaders and organization to successfully navigate both the opportunities and the diplomatic, technical, and multifaceted industry challenges with which they are confronted. Mr. Do Canto has vast inside knowledge of the Washington political process, and deep substantive experience on a wide range of public policy issues from public health, health care and social impact to immigration, trade and economic development.