David Wescott

David Wescott, vice president, directs the social media team for APCO Worldwide. Mr. Wescott has developed and implemented online outreach strategies on issues such as health care, education, energy, the environment, feminism and housing finance.

He is the author of It’s Not a Lecture (www.itsnotalecture.com), a Web log that examines emerging online communication issues. He helped develop APCO Worldwide’s Virtual Vantage Points (www.virtualvantagepoints.com), a blog that examines how online discussions impact mainstream debates. He also writes a column called “Living Locally, Working Globally” for Business Lexington.

Prior to joining APCO, Mr. Wescott was a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, where he was responsible for a variety of issues, including international trade, energy, small business, housing, financial services and economic development. Mr. Wescott worked extensively on Senator Kennedy’s amendment regarding access to affordable medicines to the Trade Promotion Authority Act, signed into law by President Bush in August 2002. He was also responsible for Senator Kennedy’s “LEADERS Act,” which creates a program at the Department of Education to provide support for small business incubation in academic settings.

Before working for Senator Kennedy, Mr. Wescott served as the executive director of the Massachusetts Civil Justice Reform Alliance (MCJRA), a coalition of small and large business leaders and employees dedicated to reforming the civil justice system in Massachusetts. MCJRA’s work eventually contributed to substantive reforms in the state’s legal system.  Prior to working with MCJRA, Mr. Wescott was the administrator for the Department of Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center. While managing a large academic medical department, he also organized a group of medical professionals to educate state legislators on the children’s health impacts of various proposals to change the state’s welfare law.

Mr. Wescott received a Bachelor of Science in Political Science (with honors) from Northeastern University. He also received the University’s Cooperative Education Award.