Beverly Perry

ESQ. Senior Vice President • Pepco Holdings Inc. • Washington, D.C.

Beverly Perry says her “down-home work ethic” fueled the journey from her family’s 100-acre tobacco farm in Franklinton, N.C., to Pepco Holdings Inc.’s corporate offices in Washington, D.C. Senior vice president for gov-ernment affairs and public policy, Perry oversees all government activities for PHI, the parent company of several energy companies serving more than 1.8 million consumers in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Virginia.

Perry joined the energy conglomerate in 1990. A self-proclaimed workaholic, she approaches her briefings with members of Congress from the same perspective as when she picked tobacco leaves. “There is no standard workday; successful individuals work until they get the job done,” she says

Before joining PHI, Perry practiced law with the Baltimore firm Frank, Bernstein, and Conaway & Goldman, litigating cases in federal and state courts throughout the District of Columbia. She also was an attorney adviser at the U.S. Department of Interior and a law clerk for her friend and mentor, Judge Marian Blank Horn of the U.S. Claims Court. “[Judge Blank Horn] set ‘the bar’ high early in my career and I’ve never aspired to anything less,” says Perry.

While grateful for the work experience she gained, she notes that her education paved the way for her success. She is the first in her family to attend college. “Once I got that law degree, I knew I could do anything else my colleagues did,” she recalls.

Perry earned a bachelor of science degree from George Washington University and a law degree from Georgetown University while working a full-time job, and was admitted to and practiced law in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

“Education provides minorities with the best advantage for challenging discrimination and achieving their potential,” she asserts. She was inspired to launch an inner city mentoring program teaching underprivileged youth life and college-preparation skills.

Perry serves on boards at the Greater Washington Urban League, African-American Civil War Memorial, Capital City Links, Kiwanis Club of Washington, D.C., and numerous others.