WASHINGTON - s4story -- Dancing in the Dash: My Story of Empowerment, Diplomacy, and Resilience, by Lauri J. Fitz-Pegado, is the memoir of a unique trailblazer, by an African American diplomat, political appointee and corporate executive, for whom the rigors and discipline of dance training provided ballast and grace in dealing with life's storms. With ballet metaphors weaved throughout, Fitz-Pegado describes her deft navigation in spaces in which Black women had not traditionally achieved success, not fully appreciating her role in forging paths for those who followed her, until a transformative experience being introduced to speak before an audience in Abu Dhabi:  "I made the critical decision that I might be emotionally released from continuing to carry those burdens, that I had carried my weight, done my duty, and could finally breathe.... That was the moment marking the beginning of the end of my dash to the elusive finish line and the beginning of living freely in my dash, in the new moment."

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Fitz-Pegado shares her remarkable journey, her experiences, reflections and observations. She tells her story to enlighten and provide insight into the path she has travelled.

About Lauri Fitz-Pegado:  Cultural and commercial diplomacy are the hallmarks of Lauri Fitz-Pegado's career. She has been a civil servant at the Voice of America and the U.S. Information Agency, and a Foreign Service Officer in the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Appointed by President Clinton, she was confirmed by the Senate to serve as Assistant Secretary and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service at the Department of Commerce led by Secretary Ronald H. Brown. In the private sector she advised countries, corporations, individuals, and non-profits as a senior executive at Hill and Knowlton and Gray and Company, and as a partner at The Livingston Group. Lauri also was an executive at Iridium, the global mobile satellite communications company.

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Fitz-Pegado has returned to her passions by teaching ballet and mentoring. She applies her communications and public relations skills to promoting artists, and her business and leadership experience to advising dance institutions sharing her commitment to social change, empowerment and inclusion. For more information, visit https://inthedash.live/

"With special resonance for this moment in our country's history, Lauri, a friend of many years, shares a creative and compelling portrait of a Black woman making her mark, while handling her personal and professional lives with grace.  Her story is a compelling testament to the transcendence of resolve, perseverance and resilience across generations of an American family."

--  Ambassador Susan E. Rice, former U.S. National Security Advisor