Lauri Fitz-Pegado will discuss her book, Dancing in the Dash: My Story of Empowerment, Diplomacy, and Resilience, and explain the role of commercial and cultural diplomacy in her career. She will focus on experiences and lessons learned—politics, policy, and advocacy—highlighting foreign service, her work with Ron Brown, service as a Clinton appointee at the Department of Commerce, corporations, public affairs, and lobbying.Cultural and commercial diplomacy are the hallmarks of Fitz-Pegado’s career. She has been a civil servant at the Voice of America and the US Information Agency, and a Foreign Service Officer in the Dominican Republic and Mexico. President Clinton appointed Fitz-Pegado to serve as Assistant Secretary and Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service at Commerce under the leadership of Secretary Ronald H. Brown. In the private sector, she advised countries, corporations, individuals, and non-profits. Currently, she works in the creative sector with artists and institutions committed to social change and inclusion.
