beverly perry – straight to the top
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photo by steed media service
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Senior VP, Pepco Holdings
As the question hung in the air between us, Beverly Perry allowed the
interviewer’s inquiry regarding her success to marinate in her soul for
a brief spell. Afterward, her answer poured out of her heart in a
streaming river of gratitude. “Most African Americans are grounded in
their spirituality. And basically, your leadership skills are developed
through the church,” says Perry, the senior vice president for
government affairs and public policy for Pepco Holdings. Perry, who
heads Pepco’s lobbying team and handles policy issues related to the
company, never hesitates to give credit for her phenomenal success.
“Secondly, I met people that were willing to mentor me, and I’ve had
great mentors. I had a mentor early on who encouraged me to go to
school. And I’ve had a mentor in my legal career who is a judge. And so
my mentors have really pushed me along,” she says. But it was her inner
flame that gave her lift-off to the upper echelon of a company that
oversees three electric companies, serving everywhere from Washington,
D.C., to Atlantic City, N.J. As the Georgetown University Law School
graduate continues to help shape issues and policies for the company’s
fiscal and market benefit, she is always trying to escort protégés
through the corridors of corporate power – blessing others the way she
was blessed.
“We are a 15-billion-dollar company, and I’m fifth in line,” she says.
“I want to make sure that I mentor young people, especially African
Americans, to help them channel their energies in the right direction
to help them move up the ranks.” –terry shropshire
