With 23 years under his belt at Accenture, first year BellRinger Rider Ed Engles has made a significant impact in both his professional life and personal engagements throughout the DC metro area. Growing up in Baltimore and later attending Loyola University, he always had his sights set on working in Washington, DC. When he started with Accenture, he came in as a brand new entry-level hire. Fast forward to today, Ed serves as the Metro D.C. Office Managing Director for Accenture, leading local strategic, values-based initiatives.
Team Accenture’s involvement in BellRinger extends beyond mere participation; it’s about building a deeper sense of community. “BellRinger is a great way for us at Accenture to build community within community,” Ed explains, highlighting how BellRinger became an opportunity for him to connect with colleagues on a new level, sharing personal stories and common experiences. “It was a way, as I came into this new role, to share with others my own story and hear and learn other stories, which allows us all to get to know each other on a whole new level,” Ed shares.
The enthusiasm spread quickly, and the team’s participation grew organically, driven by shared purpose. “From everyone that I’ve talked to, cancer has impacted their life in one way or another,” Ed noted, making BellRinger not just an event, but a shared cause that deeply resonates with the entire Accenture team.
For Ed, BellRinger’s mission strikes a particularly personal chord. “I lost my father to mantle cell lymphoma when I was 26 years old. He had a two-year fight,” he recalls. “He had amazing doctors in the VA system and certainly a lot was not known about mantle cell lymphoma 20 years ago. A lot more is known now, and I attribute people’s lives that are being saved now to research that’s being done at places like Georgetown Lombardi.”
Ed’s commitment to BellRinger and cancer research is also fueled by another family battle: his mother’s fight against ovarian cancer. “She was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer in 2021, and I credit her longevity to research and breakthroughs that have been done over the years,” he shared.
Ed is not only a Team Captain and 25-mile Rider, but he is one of 16 members of the BellRinger Advisory Council, a core group of leaders who serve as community ambassadors and support BellRinger by offering strategies to expand BellRinger’s reach across the Washington, DC region.
“It’s been a connection of other like-minded leaders across a variety of industries. It’s also been helpful to see the other organizations and corporations that are making commitments to BellRinger — it pushes us at Accenture to continue to do more and get additional folks involved,” he shared. “Being able to hear firsthand from those at Georgetown Lombardi and talk about the importance of the research and where it’s going has been incredibly eye-opening.”
Looking forward, Ed hopes to see BellRinger become a staple event in the DC area, alongside other marquee events like the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run or the Marine Corps Marathon. “I hope BellRinger continues to grow in size. I hope it becomes a Ride that everyone can’t help but get involved in. With a mission as impactful as raising money for cancer research, everyone has a reason to get involved.”
This year marks Accenture’s second year participating in BellRinger, and Ed is dedicated to making their involvement even more impactful. “We want to continue to be pushed to step up and get more Riders and make this more visible in the years to come,” he emphasizes. Ed sees BellRinger not just as an annual Ride, but as a long-term engagement that aligns deeply with his personal mission to contribute to cancer research. “I know there’ll be a lot of emotions for me this year,” he acknowledges, “but I’m looking forward to carrying them into the years to come as well.”
“I’m hoping that as we, unfortunately, see more people’s lives upended by cancer, that BellRinger is something that grows and is something that we keep raising money and awareness for until we get cures and treatments that, one day, will prevent anyone from losing a loved one to this disease.”
