Media and the Midterms

Ashlee Rich Stephenson

Ashlee Rich Stephenson, the senior political strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, leads the Chamber’s Political Affairs program, which includes issue advocacy campaigns and voter education efforts. She also directs the endorsement process on behalf of pro-business candidates for federal office. Stephenson is a nationally respected and highly experienced political strategist and pollster, with expertise working on high-level candidate campaigns, with independent expenditures, and on behalf of public affairs and corporate interests. She worked on four presidential campaigns, including as the polling director for Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 campaign and as a political strategy adviser for Governor Scott Walker’s 2016 effort. Stephenson was president of Just Win Strategies, a national political strategy firm, and principal and chief strategy officer at the polling and analytics company WPA Intelligence. She started her career in the Strategy Department at the Republican National Committee. Named a Rising Star in 2014 by Campaigns & Elections magazine and inducted into the inaugural American Association of Political Consultants 40 under 40 class of 2015, Stephenson is a regularly requested panelist and commentator at political industry events to discuss evolving trends in the political tactics of public opinion research, data, digital, message development, and marketing. She serves on the boards for Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions and The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. A graduate of Allegheny College and native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Stephenson resides in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband and their two children.

Daniel Lippman

Daniel Lippman is a reporter covering the White House and Washington for POLITICO. He was previously a co-author of POLITICO's Playbook and still writes Playbook's "Great Weekend Reads" section on Saturdays and Sundays and the "Social Data" section of POLITICO New York Playbook. Before joining POLITICO, he was a fellow covering environmental news for E&E Publishing and a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in New York. He has also interned for McClatchy Newspapers and Reuters. During a stint freelancing in 2013, he traveled to the Turkish-Syrian border to cover the impact of the Syrian civil war for The Huffington Post and CNN.com. He graduated from The Hotchkiss School in 2008 and from The George Washington University in 2012. Daniel hails from the Berkshires in western Massachusetts and enjoys playing tennis, seeing movies and trying out new restaurants in his free time.

Dan Meyers

Dan Meyers is a senior director and head of advocacy for APCO Worldwide’s Washington-based public affairs practice. He is former Republican political operative and White House representative and specializes in public affairs and policy advocacy. Prior to joining APCO, Mr. Meyers spent nearly 10 years with DCI Group, an independent public affairs firm specializing in issue advocacy and strategic communications. As vice president, Mr. Meyers managed full-scale federal, state and local campaigns, overseeing strategy, messaging, field operations, finance and compliance, online operations and paid media advertising. During his time with the firm, he also managed external consultants and served as the client relationship lead for several accounts. Before joining the private sector, Mr. Meyers’ experience included serving as a press advance representative for the White House during the Bush Administration, a special assistant to the political director of the Republican National Committee during the 2006 midterm elections, and a special assistant and personal aide for Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 presidential bid. Mr. Meyers holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Capital University in Ohio and an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business

Licy Do Canto

Managing Director, Washington D.C., APCO Worldwide

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.

Pablo Pardo, Phd

Pablo is a bilingual award-winning journalist and consultant with a passion for understanding and explaining the world we live in. For more than 25 years, he has been covering and analyzing cutting-edge trends at the intersection of international politics and markets in Europe, the U.S., Latin America, and the rest of the world. From Davos to the White House Press Room, from G20 Summits to the Democratic and Republican Conventions, and from the Texas desert to Fort McMurray in Alberta (Canada), he has focused on the big issues that define today’s global political and economic landscape.