ABOUT OLLIE
The life journey of Ollie Cantos is as remarkable as it is improbable. Beating the odds through the years is what came to define, not only who he is, but more precisely why he has remained so
driven to help facilitate our making the biggest positive difference possible ... TOGETHER.
Ollie and his family have been a part of West Covina for almost his whole life. Moving here to West Covina in 1974 from Los Angeles where he was born to Filipino parents, Orlando and Linda Cantos who immigrated to the United States in the 1960s, he learned from his earliest childhood years about the vital importance of working hard, battling against adversity by gaining a deep sense of resilience, focusing on achieving and exceeding high expectations, and consciously making the very most of each and every day.
Though blinded at birth due to complications relating to prematurity, Ollie did his best, but things were not easy. The regular object of bullying and taunts on the playground, he faced the sting of exclusion, being ignored, and feeling out of place because of not being able to see like almost everybody else.
The product of West Covina values - proud, strong, and determined- Ollie has spent his life, breaking new ground and paving the way for others to follow.
Ollie is the first blind person and individual with a disability ever to be elected to the City Council since West Covina's founding in February 1923.
Early leadership roles include Student Body Vice President at Hollencrest Junior High in Eighth Grade; Junior Class President and Student Body President at Bishop Amat Memorial High School in La Puente; and Student Senator, Speaker of the Senate, Vice President of Student Services, and Executive Vice President and Chairperson of the Student Senate at Loyola Marymount University where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. The year he graduated, he received the Stanley Chan Award, the highest honor to be given by the University's Political Science Department.
After earning his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School Los Angeles and becoming an attorney, he served as Staff Attorney and Director of Outreach and Education at the Disability Rights Legal Center, General Counsel and Director of Programs for the then 70,000-member American Association of People with Disabilities, Special Assistant and later Special Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, Associate Director for Domestic Policy at the White House under President George W Bush, and Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education.
Ollie has also received presidential appointments from two different Presidents of the United States. His work at the Federal Government level has spanned both Republican and Democratic administrations since 2004.
Today, he continues Federal service as part of the Department's Office for Civil Rights.
Ollie has traveled to 41 states, addressing audiences totaling more than 60,000. Key area of focus have included network-building, leadership development, and strategic approaches for optimizing community impact.
In addition to his ongoing public sector responsibilities, Ollie is Former Chairman and current Member of tthe Board at Disability Belongs, a multi-million-dollar national nonpartisan non-profit cross-disability organization that fights stigmas and advances opportunities on behalf of this nation's more than 61 million Americans with disabilities), and an active supporter of service organizations including the Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, Elks Club, and Lions Club.
Prior leadership posts include Member and Vice Chair of the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, Legal Officer for the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Vice President of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Member of the Board of Directors of the Loyola Marymount University National Alumni Association, and Member of the Board of Governors of the Loyola Law School Alumni Association. Among others, he was also on the boards of the Disability Community Resource Cebter in Los Angeles, ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia and Community Lodgings.
But Ollie is most grateful for his adoption of three blind triplet boys - Leo, Nick, and Steven. Their compelling story has been told by National Public Radio, PEOPLE Magazine, The Washingtonian Magazine, USA Today, and videos that went viral on NowThis, HeartThreads, and others. In addition to local media coverage, they were featured as Persons of the Week on ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir in December 2017 for attaining the coveted rank of Eagle Scout as part of the Boy Scouts of America. Their story has now reached a grand total of more than 53 million readers.
