Managing in Turbulent Times: Emerging Leaders in Public Health

Alumni

Licy Do CantoLicy M. Do Canto

National Association of Community Health Centers, Washington, DC

Area of work in public health:

As an advocate specializing in health disparities and the medically underserved, I have dedicated my energy over the last several years to fighting for improvements in our public health care system, particularly with respect to reducing the unequal burden of disease among racial and ethnic minorities.

I began my professional career in public health in 1995 as a special assistant to Dr. Barbara Rimer, then Director of Cancer Prevention and Awareness at the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Director of the National Cancer Institute’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. Following that, I went to Washington D.C. to work for U.S. Congressman Barney Frank where I served as Senior Legislative Assistant from 1997 to 2001 on a number of domestic policy issues, including health policy, education, labor, welfare and the environment. Prior to joining Congressman Frank, I served in an array of positions in the Office of US Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Following my work on Capitol Hill, I joined the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) Federal Government Relations Department, where I was responsible from 2001 to 2003 for overseeing and representing the Society before the White House, the Congress, federal agencies and external coalition partners on issues pertaining to the medically underserved and minority communities as well as breast and prostate cancers. In May 2003, I united with the National Association of Community Health Centers – the advocate voice for the nation’s more than 1000 community and migrant health centers – where I currently oversee the Association’s nationwide federal legislative and regulatory advocacy activities on the issues of Medicaid, children’s health insurance and the Patient Navigator Act, a legislative initiative I spearheaded while at the ACS.

In addition to my work with health centers, I currently serve as the Political Advisor to and a Board Member of the International Spirit of Life Foundation (ISLF) headquartered at the Washington Hospital Cancer Institute in Washington DC. With the responsibility for carrying out ISLF’s federal legislative, political and domestic and international coalition advocacy activities, I work to advance the Foundation’s mission of igniting the collaboration of prominent researchers, advocates and visionaries from across the world for the prevention, treatment and management of cancer.

In December 2003, I continued my dedication to public health advocacy by joining the Board of the Bert Corona Leadership Institute, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of migrant and immigrant communities through the promotion of leadership and participation in the American political system.

Personal Information:

I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the second of three sons of Licinio and Olivia Do Canto, immigrants from the Republic of Cape Verde. I grew up in the Boston suburb of Milton, where I eventually left to attend Duke University, where I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Comparative Area Studies and Spanish and European Studies in 1995. While at Duke, I spent one year studying at the Center for International Studies in Madrid, Spain, and participated in summer internship programs in the United States Information Agency and the Office of US Senator Edward Kennedy. I am avid fan of international soccer and college basketball – Let’s Go Duke! – and I enjoy playing the piano. I live with my wife Elizabeth in Arlington, Virginia.

What I would like to get out of this program:

I look forward to improving and continuing to develop my leadership skills in the area of public health alongside a talented group of my peers and colleagues. Additionally, I am excited about strengthening my understanding and knowledge of the important relationship between public health and business management.