♪ THEME MUSIC ♪ >>GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES.

I'M DAVID DUMKE.

TODAY WE ARE JOINED BY LAURI FITZ-PEGADO, WHO HAS HAD JUST AN AMAZING CAREER AS A DIPLOMAT, AS AN ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF COMMERCE AND DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE U.S. COMMERCIAL SERVICE, AS A BUSINESS WOMAN WHO HAS ADVISED FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS, CORPORATIONS, COMPANIES, AND NGOS, AND AS AN AUTHOR AND AN ARTIST.

AND WE ARE HERE TODAY TO TALK TO HER ABOUT THE BOOK SHE RECENTLY WROTE, DANCING IN THE DASH.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW, LAURI.

>>THANK YOU SO MUCH, DAVID.

IT'S ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU.

>>WELL, LAURI, TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE BOOK.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ IT, IT'S VERY PERSONAL, ABOUT BOTH YOUR CAREER BUT ALSO THE IMPORTANCE OF DANCE IN YOUR LIFE.

>>ABSOLUTELY.

DANCING IN THE DASH, MY STORY OF EMPOWERMENT, DIPLOMACY AND RESILIENCE, IS ACTUALLY A MEMOIR THAT I'VE WRITTEN OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS AND FINISHED DURING COVID.

AND I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO SHARE WITH MANY, YOUNGER PEOPLE, PEOPLE MY AGE WHO KNOW ME AND THOSE WHO DON'T, AND INTERNATIONALLY BECAUSE I THINK THAT IT HAS RESONANCE FOR ALMOST ANYONE.

MY LIFE STORY, WHICH IS QUITE INTERESTING, DIFFERENT I THINK FOR A WOMAN MY AGE OF COLOR WHO GREW UP IN THE UNITED STATES FROM THE TIME OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT REALLY TAKING HOLD AND OVER THE LAST FEW DECADES IN MANY PROFESSIONAL PURSUITS, BUT WITH DANCE REALLY AS A CORE OF SOMETHING THAT I BEGAN WHEN I WAS FIVE YEARS OLD AND WAS VERY SERIOUS ABOUT, BALLET SPECIFICALLY, AND THE WONDERFUL CHARACTERISTICS THAT IT INSTILLS IN YOUNG PEOPLE, DISCIPLINE, PERSEVERANCE, PERFORMANCE SKILLS, RESILIENCE.

>>AND THAT HELPED ME THROUGHOUT MY VERY VARIED CAREER.

SO, THAT'S REALLY WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT.

IT'S A JOURNEY WITH ME ACROSS MANY DECADES AND IT HAS A DANCE LIKE MOTIF IN THAT EVERY CHAPTER IS HEADED BY A DANCE REFERENCE AND THEN THAT DANCE REFERENCE IS WEAVED THROUGHOUT THE STORY THAT IS IN THAT CHAPTER.

>>LAURI, IN THE BOOK, YOU TALK A LOT ABOUT YOUR FAMILY OBVIOUSLY, AND IDENTITY IS MENTIONED IN IT BOTH AS A WOMAN, AS AN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN IN PARTICULAR, TELL US HOW SOME OF THOSE, SOME OF YOUR PERSONAL BACKGROUND HAVE SHAPED YOUR EXPERIENCE.

>>ABSOLUTELY.

FAMILY IS A VERY IMPORTANT THEME AND HAS FORMED A BACKBONE FOR ME AND A SUPPORT SYSTEM THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT.

BOTH OF MY PARENTS WERE FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE EDUCATED AT A HISTORICAL BLACK COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY, HOWARD UNIVERSITY HERE IN D.C., WHERE THEY MET.

MY FATHER PURSUED STUDYING MEDICINE.

AND QUITE SURPRISINGLY, BECAUSE HE WAS NOT ABLE TO ENTER A MEDICAL SCHOOL IN THE '50S IN THE UNITED STATES, HE WENT TO SWITZERLAND AND TO GERMANY EACH FOR A YEAR TO STUDY MEDICINE IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY AS A BLACK MAN, BLACK AMERICAN MAN.

SO, HIS EXPERIENCES AND PERHAPS HE INSTILLED IN ME SOME SENSE OF TAKING RISKS OF TRAVEL AND REALLY DOING THINGS OUTSIDE THE BOX.

>>MY MOTHER WAS AN ENGLISH TEACHER AND LOVED LANGUAGE AND MINORED IN SPANISH, AND I THINK INSTILLED IN ME THE LOVE OF TRAVEL AND OF LANGUAGE.

AND I LEARNED, STARTED AT A VERY EARLY AGE TO LEARN SPANISH IN MY PUBLIC SCHOOL IN D.C. AND CONTINUED THROUGHOUT HIGH SCHOOL AND IN COLLEGE.

MY DAD WAS QUITE A RENAISSANCE MAN, BESIDES HIS MEDICAL STUDIES WHICH HE DID NOT COMPLETE BY THE WAY, DIFFICULT IN THE '50S.

HE CAME BACK TO THE STATES.

HE ALSO WAS AN ACTOR, A FABULOUS ACTOR WITH A WONDERFUL BASS VOICE THAT IS SOMEWHAT LIKE JAMES EARL JONES'S.

AND HE ALSO BECAME A RANKED AMATEUR TENNIS PLAYER.

>>SO, HE WAS QUITE A RENAISSANCE MAN.

I LEARNED A LOT FROM MY FAMILY.

I GOT SUPPORT FROM MY FAMILY.

I HAD BOTH THE ARTISTIC AND INTELLECTUAL SIDES THAT MY PARENTS PROVIDED.

AND MY GRANDPARENTS WERE INTERESTING, THEY WERE IN THE SOUTH.

I SPENT QUITE A BIT OF TIME IN THE SOUTH DURING SEGREGATED TIMES.

I LEARNED FROM THAT EXPERIENCE AS AN AFRICAN AMERICAN GIRL AND WOMAN.

AND I HAD A VERY WONDERFUL FAMILY IN THE WASHINGTON AREA, IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, THAT WAS EXTREMELY CLOSE AND SUPPORTIVE WITH WHOM I SPENT A GREAT DEAL OF TIME IN MY FORMATIVE YEARS.

>>NOW, LAURI, YOU MENTIONED THAT YOUR PARENTS WENT TO HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE, BUT YOU ENDED UP GOING TO ONE OF THE SEVEN SISTERS COLLEGE, VASSAR.

AND HOW DID THAT AFFECT YOUR OWN SENSE OF IDENTITY AND YOUR CAREER?

>>INTERESTING INDEED THAT I WAS NOT ENCOURAGED BY MY PARENTS TO GO TO A HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD HAD A VERY GOOD EXPERIENCE, AN IMPORTANT ONE THERE.

THEY ENCOURAGED ME TO GO TO A SCHOOL THAT WAS MAJORITY WHITE BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED THAT FOR ME, WHEN I WENT TO COLLEGE IN THE '70S, THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO BE IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT MIRRORED THE ENVIRONMENT I WOULD BE IN WHEN I GRADUATED AND ENTERED THE PROFESSIONAL WORLD WHERE THERE IS A WHITE MAJORITY POWER STRUCTURE, THAT I WOULD LEARN IMPORTANT SKILLS BY GOING TO A SEVEN SISTERS SCHOOL LIKE VASSAR THAT ACTUALLY HAD BECOME CO-ED THE YEAR BEFORE I ENTERED IT.

SO, IT WAS NOT ONLY WITH VERY STRONG AND IMPORTANT WOMEN, WE ALSO HAD MEN, AND THE FACULTY WAS FANTASTIC.

AND IT WAS DURING THE TIME OF A LOT OF PROTESTS AROUND THE COUNTRY.

>>SOME OF THE UPPER CLASS MEN IN MY CLASS, WOMEN, HAD TAKEN OVER VASSAR COLLEGE IN 1968 WHEN THERE WERE PROTESTS AROUND THE COUNTRY AND DEMAND FOR MORE DIVERSE FACULTY AND AVAILABILITY OF PROGRAMS IN AFRICAN STUDIES AND IN BLACK STUDIES.

AND THEY WERE QUITE FIERCE.

THEY HAVE REMAINED FRIENDS OF MINE.

I'M SEEING ONE OF THEM NEXT WEEK, A FEW OF THEM NEXT WEEK WHO ARE IN THE AREA.

AND THEY REALLY DID PROVIDE AN EXAMPLE FOR MANY OF US WHO BENEFITED FROM THEIR PROTESTS AND FROM THEIR WINS AS AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS COMING TO VASSAR.

SO, IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE THAT I HAD.

IT WAS ONE THAT INSTILLED IN ME AND REALLY ENCOURAGED MY SENSE OF ADVOCACY, OF INTERNATIONAL KNOWLEDGE, PROTESTING FOR THE END OF APARTHEID, PROTESTING AND MARCHING FOR AFRICAN LIBERATION OF COUNTRIES.

AND IT HAS STUCK WITH ME IN TERMS OF ME BEING WHAT I CALL A STRATEGIC DISRUPTOR THROUGHOUT MY LIFE.

>>WELL, STRATEGIC DISRUPTOR IS AN INTERESTING CHOICE OF WORDS BECAUSE THEN YOU BECAME A DIPLOMAT AFTER THAT.

>>ABSOLUTELY.

AND I THINK THAT LEARNING SKILLS OF DIPLOMACY, I WAS IN THE CULTURAL BRANCH OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE.

MANY PEOPLE THINK THAT THE STATE DEPARTMENT IS THE ONLY PLACE THAT HAS DIPLOMATS WHILE THERE ARE OTHER AGENCIES AND DEPARTMENTS WHICH ALSO HAVE FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS DIPLOMATS.

AT THAT TIME, THE U.S. INFORMATION AGENCY WAS ONE THAT FOCUSED ON CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGES AND MEDIA.

AND I WAS IN THAT AGENCY AND SERVED TWO TOURS IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND MEXICO.

AND PRIOR TO GOING OVERSEAS, I INTERNED AT USIA, AT THE VOICE OF AMERICA.

I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT RADIO AND BROADCASTING.

I HELPED IN THE LATIN AMERICAN BRANCH OF VOA, THE SPANISH LANGUAGE SERVICE, WORKED THERE.

I ALSO GAVE TOURS IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH OF THE VOICE OF AMERICA.

AND THEN, AFTER GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE, I ENDED UP IN PERSONNEL AND TRAINING.

SO, I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT THE SYSTEMS THAT REALLY ARE THE BACKBONE OF HOW AN AGENCY LIKE THAT WORKS.

I ENDED UP ONCE MORE IN MY LIFE IN A FOREIGN SERVICE AGENCY MANY YEARS LATER AS A PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEE BY SECRETARY CLINTON, WORKING FOR THE FABULOUS RON BROWN WHO WAS THE FIRST BLACK CHAIRMAN OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND WHO BECAME SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.

SO, I WORKED AS THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ANOTHER FOREIGN SERVICE AGENCY, WHICH IS THE FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SERVICE.

WE ALSO HAVE FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FROM OTHER, FROM USAID, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO SAY.

AND ALSO WE HAVE DETAILEES AT EMBASSIES FROM OTHER AGENCIES.

>>SO, IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR ME TO, AND I TALK ABOUT THIS QUITE OFTEN, TO TALK ABOUT THE FOREIGN SERVICE, ABOUT DIPLOMATS, AND PERHAPS HOW UNDERVALUED DIPLOMATS ARE WHEN THEY RISK THEIR LIVES AND THEY'RE OF SERVICE TO THIS COUNTRY, AROUND THE WORLD, MOVE AROUND, HAVE FAMILIES THAT HAVE TO MOVE, HAVE TO BECOME ACCULTURATED TO DIFFERENT SOCIETIES, TO DIFFERENT POLITICAL SITUATIONS AND OFTEN ARE IN DANGER.

SO, I AM A PROPONENT OF HAVING MORE PEOPLE OF MORE DIVERSITY IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE BECAUSE I THINK THAT THE EXPERIENCES OF DIVERSE AMERICANS ARE IMPORTANT BOTH TO INCLUDE IN THE FORMULATION OF FOREIGN POLICY AND ALSO TO PORTRAY IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES BECAUSE WE ARE A DIVERSE COUNTRY AND WE NEED TO HAVE PEOPLE ON THE FRONT LINES WHO REPRESENT THAT DIVERSITY.

>>LET ME ASK YOU A LITTLE ABOUT THAT, LAURI.

BEING AN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN, BOTH SERVING IN A HIGH-RANKING POSITION IN THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION AS WELL AS BEING A DIPLOMAT ON THE CULTURAL LEVEL, HOW WERE YOU PERCEIVED IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND IN MEXICO, AND THEN LATER WHEN YOU WERE WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE IN OTHER COUNTRIES AS AN AFRICAN AMERICAN SPECIFICALLY?

>>IT HAS BEEN A RICH, SOMETIMES CHALLENGING, EXPERIENCE THAT I WOULDN'T TRADE FOR ANYTHING.

I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH THROUGH THAT PROCESS.

AND I BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE MET ME AND WHO HAVE WORKED WITH ME HAVE LEARNED A LOT AS WELL ABOUT PEOPLE OF COLOR, ABOUT WOMEN, ABOUT RESPECT.

I ENDED UP IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WORKING IN THE CULTURAL AFFAIRS AREA.

I WORKED WITH ZUBIN MEHTA AND THE NEW YORK'S PHILHARMONIC WHEN THEY VISITED THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ACCOMPANYING THEM.

I WORKED WITH DANCE COMPANIES LIKE ALVIN AILEY WHEN THEY VISITED MEXICO, FOR EXAMPLE.

I WORKED WITH TV CREWS IN MEXICO THAT WERE EXPLORING BORDER ISSUES AND IMMIGRATION, SEVERAL TV SHOWS THAT WERE PRODUCED WHERE I HELPED WITH THE ARRANGEMENTS, THE INTERVIEWS, ACCOMPANIED THE CREWS.

>>I WORKED WITH THE STUDENTS WHO WERE VISITING THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC FROM VARIOUS UNIVERSITIES AND EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGES AND MY FABULOUS COLLEAGUES WHO WORKED IN OTHER AGENCIES, PRIMARILY THE STATE DEPARTMENT.

DURING THE FIRST TOUR FOR MOST STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICERS, THEY HAVE TO WORK ON THE "VISA LINE" INTERVIEWING DOMINICANS FOR VISAS TO GO TO THE UNITED STATES WHILE I WAS MOVING AROUND THE COUNTRY WITH THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC.

AND ALSO, IRONICALLY, GIVEN MY DANCE BACKGROUND AND THAT I WAS WORKING IN CULTURAL AFFAIRS, I ACTUALLY DANCED WITH THE BALLET SANTO DOMINGO.

THAT WAS MY MOONLIGHTING JOB.

I THINK THE AMBASSADOR IN THE EMBASSY THOUGHT IT WAS USEFUL BECAUSE I WAS WORKING IN CULTURAL AFFAIRS.

AND I LEARNED A LOT THROUGH THAT EXPERIENCE.

>>IN TERMS OF THE ISSUE OF RACE, ETHNICITY, IT WAS INTERESTING TO ME TO SEE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, WHICH IS A VERY MIXED RACE SOCIETY, THERE ARE LOTS OF BROWN PEOPLE WHO ARE A MIXTURE OF INDIGENOUS AFRICAN AND SPANISH, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS COLONIAL SPANISH REMNANTS.

HOWEVER, COLORISM IS AN ISSUE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

THE LIGHTER YOU ARE, THE MORE ACCEPTED YOU ARE.

AND I HAD SEVERAL INCIDENTS WHERE I WAS CLASSIFIED AS INDIAN OR INDIO RATHER THAN BLACK, WHICH IS WHAT I WANTED TO BE CLASSIFIED AS BECAUSE IT WAS SEEN THAT ANOTHER DESIGNATION OF INDIAN WAS SEEN TO BE MORE SUPERIOR.

OR THE USE OF THAT WORD, I DON'T THINK IT REALLY MEANT INDIGENOUS BUT IT MEANT OF A DIFFERENT RACIAL MIXTURE, ONE THAT WAS BETTER TO HAVE THAN TO ACKNOWLEDGE AFRICAN ROOTS.

THOSE THINGS WERE EDUCATIONAL TO ME.

IN MY TRAVELS IN SOUTH AFRICA LATER IN THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT WHERE WE ESTABLISHED THE FIRST COMMERCIAL OFFICE AND HAD THE FIRST TRADE MISSION TO SOUTH AFRICA POST-APARTHEID, IT WAS INTERESTING TO SEE THE COLORISM ISSUES THERE AS WELL.

THE CLASSIFICATIONS OF WHITE, OF "COLORED", WHO WERE THE MIXTURES OF WHITE AND AFRICAN NATIVE PEOPLE AND ALSO INDIANS FROM EAST INDIA, THEY WERE CALLED COLORED AND THEY WERE LIGHTER SKINNED.

AND THEN, THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF SOUTH AFRICA WHO WERE BLACK AND FROM VARIOUS TRIBES WERE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RUNG AND HAD TO HAVE PASS CARDS IN ORDER TO LEAVE AND TO TRAVEL FREELY DURING APARTHEID.

SO, COLORISM EVEN IN THE UNITED STATES IS STILL AN ISSUE AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS THAT IN MANY FAMILIES AND STILL PERVASIVE IS THAT THE LIGHTER, THE MORE MIXED YOU ARE WITH WHITE, THAT SOMEHOW THAT GIVES YOU THE UPPER HAND AND IT'S MORE DESIRABLE.

SO, I DEALT WITH THE ISSUE OF COLORISM IN MY BOOK AS WELL.

>>YOU MENTIONED EARLIER IN THIS INTERVIEW YOUR WORK WITH RON, THE LATE RON BROWN WHO TRAGICALLY DIED IN A AIR CRASH WHILE SERVING THE COUNTRY ON A TRADE MISSION.

TELL ME A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR WORK WITH DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND SPECIFICALLY WITH RON BROWN.

>>IT WAS SUCH A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE FOR SO MANY OF US AND PARTICULARLY FOR ME BECAUSE I HAD KNOWN RON BROWN FOR A DECADE OR SO BEFORE I WENT TO COMMERCE TO WORK FOR HIM.

AND WE MET BACK IN THE '80S WHEN I WAS WITH A PUBLIC AFFAIRS FIRM CALLED GRAY & COMPANY AND HE WAS A LOBBYIST AT A FIRM CALLED PATTON BOGS AT THE TIME.

AND WE DID SOME WORK TOGETHER IN HAITI AND IN A FEW OTHER PLACES.

AND THEN, WHEN HE BECAME CHAIRMAN OF THE PARTY, OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, I HAD WORKED WITH HIM ON CAMPAIGNS AND IN VARIOUS AREAS WHERE HE HAD BROUGHT ME IN ON VOLUNTEER BASIS TO WORK WITH HIM ON PRESS ISSUES, COMMUNICATIONS ISSUES.

AND I REALLY PRIDED MYSELF AS BEING PERHAPS PART OF HIS KITCHEN CABINET.

I TRAVELED WITH HIM WHEN HE WAS CHAIRMAN OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY THROUGHOUT AFRICA, TO EUROPE, FOR THE LIBERAL INTERNATIONAL.

AND HE WAS A MENTOR AND A FRIEND.

AND WHEN HE BECAME SECRETARY OF COMMERCE AND ASKED ME TO LEAVE HILL AND KNOWLTON WHERE I WAS A SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND HAD BEEN FOR 11 YEARS, IT WAS A DIFFICULT DECISION FOR ME.

AND HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THAT VERY SPECIAL POSITION AS ASSISTANT SECRETARY IN THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION AND ALSO CONCURRENTLY AS DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SERVICE, I PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE LEFT HILL AND KNOWLTON.

BUT IT WAS SUCH A CHALLENGE AND A WONDERFUL AND PERFECT POSITION FOR ME.

I HAD 90 OFFICES THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES, DOMESTIC OFFICES, THAT WERE HELPING SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZE COMPANIES EXPORT PRODUCTS ABROAD.

AND I HAD 130 OFFICES OVERSEAS WHERE FOREIGN SERVICE, FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SERVICE OFFICERS WORKING WITH THE EMBASSIES WITHIN AND IN SPECIAL SPACES, COMMERCIAL OFFICES THEN OUTSIDE PRIOR TO 9/11, WORKING WITH THEM TO COORDINATE MISSIONS TO COUNTRIES, TO IDENTIFY AGENTS AND DISTRIBUTORS FOR WHATEVER WIDGET, OR PROJECT, OR PRODUCT THAT THE DOMESTIC OFFICE WAS WORKING WITH COMPANIES ON.

SO, IT WAS A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE.

I TRAVELED TO MANY OF THOSE OFFICES.

WE OPENED NEW OFFICES MANDATED BY CONGRESS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES IN CAPITALS, IN STATES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, AND ALSO OPENED NEW COMMERCIAL OFFICES IN QUITE AN EMERGING MARKETS THAT WERE IMPORTANT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, ONE IN CHINA, ONE IN INDIA, ONE IN SOUTH AFRICA, IN SEVERAL OF THE NEWLY INDEPENDENT STATES IN EUROPE.

SO, IT WAS A FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE.

RON WAS VERY SUPPORTIVE OF YOUNGER PEOPLE, OF DIVERSE PEOPLE.

IT WAS PERHAPS ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE ENVIRONMENTS I HAD WORKED IN BECAUSE OF HIS COMMITMENT TO CHANGE AND BELIEVING IN OPPORTUNITY AND BELIEVING IN THE INTELLIGENCE AND IN THE ABILITIES OF PEOPLE OF COLOR WHO WERE NOT GIVEN OPPORTUNITIES BY MANY OTHER INSTITUTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.

WHEN HE DIED IN CROATIA, DUBROVNIK TO BE SPECIFIC, IN 1996, I WAS STILL WORKING AT COMMERCE AND IT HAPPENED TO BE THE FIRST TRIP IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS OF HIS LIFE THAT I WAS NOT ON WITH HIM.

I WAS IN VIETNAM WITH THE TRADE MISSION OPENING THE FIRST COMMERCIAL OFFICE IN VIETNAM SINCE THE WAR.

BUT I WAS ASKED TO FLY TO DUBROVNIK AND TO REPRESENT THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND ALSO THE FAMILY, THE RON BROWN FAMILY, I HAD BEEN VERY CLOSE TO ALL OF HIS FAMILY FOR MANY YEARS, TO FLY BACK WITH THE BODIES, 33 BODIES.

IT WAS NOT JUST RON BROWN AND EMPLOYEES OF THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT, BUT THERE WERE A COUPLE OF OTHER AGENCIES REPRESENTED, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF MEDIA PEOPLE, AND THERE WERE CORPORATE EXECUTIVES FROM MAJOR COMPANIES WHO DIED IN THAT CRASH.

AND THAT EXPERIENCE WAS QUITE HARROWING FOR ME.

IT WAS QUITE EMOTIONAL FOR ME TO FLY BACK FROM CROATIA 13 HOURS ON A C-130, SITTING IN A JUMP SEAT AND STARING OUT AT 33 COFFINS DRAPED WITH AMERICAN FLAGS.

IT WAS A SEMINAL MOMENT IN MY LIFE.

>>OH, UNDERSTANDABLY.

ALSO WANTED TO KNOW, YOU HAVE WORKED AS A PUBLIC RELATIONS ADVISOR IN THE LOBBYING FIELD FOR A NUMBER OF GOVERNMENTS, I THINK OVER 20, AS WELL AS COMPANIES AND CORPORATIONS AND BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL DOING IT.

WHAT WAS THE KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS?

>>WASN'T EASY.

AS YOU KNOW, DAVID, OFTEN CLIENTS COME OUR WAY AND WE'RE WORKING FOR COMPANIES WHERE FINALLY I ENDED UP BEING A PARTNER AT THE LAST COMPANY I WAS WITH.

BUT WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, IT'S A MATTER OF TAKING THE CLIENTS THAT YOU ARE ASSIGNED.

SOMETIMES, YOU MIGHT NOT AGREE WITH THE POLITICS OF THAT COUNTRY, OR WITH THE CULTURE OF A CORPORATION, OR WITH THE PRACTICES AND BELIEFS OF AN INDIVIDUAL.

AND THE WAY I THINK THAT I ALWAYS DEALT WITH SOME OF THESE CONFLICTS IS THAT I ALWAYS STUCK TO MY OWN TRUTH, TO MY OWN BELIEFS.

AND I USUALLY MADE CLEAR, GIVEN MY DIPLOMATIC BACKGROUND, TO THOSE CLIENTS WHAT I TRULY THOUGHT WAS ACHIEVABLE AND WHERE PERHAPS SOME OF THEIR APPROACH, OR EXPECTATIONS, OR UNDERSTANDING OF THE U.S.

POLITICAL BODY, OF THE BODY POLITIC OF PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, IN STATE AND LOCAL POLITICS, IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, IN CONGRESS, IN EACH ADMINISTRATION, THAT THERE WERE THINGS THAT THEY NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND.

AND THAT I THOUGHT IT WAS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE FIRMS THAT REPRESENTED THEM TO HELP TO EXPLAIN HOW OUR COUNTRY FUNCTIONS, WHICH IS NOT EASY FOR MANY FOREIGNERS TO UNDERSTAND AND OFTEN FOR AMERICANS TO UNDERSTAND, SEPARATION OF POWERS, PARTISAN POLITICS, SOME OF THE COMPLICATED ISSUES.

SO, I LOOKED AT MYSELF AS SOMEONE WHO REPRESENTED OFTEN A DIVERSE POINT OF VIEW BECAUSE OF WHO I AM, AN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN, AND ONE WHO WAS A DIPLOMAT AND WHO COULD OFTEN EXPLAIN IN A WAY THAT WAS UNTHREATENING TO CLIENTS, AND ALSO ONE WHO BELIEVED IN EDUCATING, NOT JUST REPRESENTING CLIENTS.

IF THEY WANTED TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING THAT I THOUGHT WAS NOT ACHIEVABLE, I WOULD TRY TO HELP THEM TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WOULD BE MORE REASONABLE, AND NOT TO JUST SAY THAT WE COULD ACHIEVE SOMETHING THAT WAS, THE CHANCES WERE VERY, VERY SLIM AND SOMETIMES IMPOSSIBLE BECAUSE OF THEIR PERCEPTION OF WHAT COULD BE DONE WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF LOBBYIST OR PUBLIC AFFAIRS PEOPLE.

THAT'S HOW I GOT THROUGH THE PROCESS.

I DIDN'T ALWAYS WIN.

I WASN'T ALWAYS APPRECIATED, SOMETIMES EVEN BY MY COLLEAGUES FOR MY POINTS OF VIEW, BUT I DID MOVE UP THE LADDER AND I BELIEVE I WAS RESPECTED.

AND I TRIED TO DO THE BEST JOB FOR EACH CLIENT.

>>LAURI, WE ONLY HAVE A COUPLE MINUTES LEFT AND I WANTED TO ASK YOU, SO YOU WERE IN THIS ULTRA, UBER COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT OF POLITICS FOR SO LONG.

YOU'VE NOW STEPPED AWAY FROM THAT AND HAVE RETURNED, IF YOU WILL, TO YOUR ROOTS IN THE ARTS.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING TODAY.

>>I, NUMBER ONE, WHEN I "RETIRED" IN 2018 AND HAVE BEEN VERY BUSY SINCE THEN- >>WE USE THE TERM VERY LOOSELY.

>>I FINISHED MY BOOK.

I WENT BACK TO MY ALMA MATER, JONES-HAYWOOD SCHOOL OF DANCE WHERE I STUDIED AS A YOUNG PERSON UNDER THE TUTELAGE OF TWO FABULOUS AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN WHO CREATED THE SCHOOL JUST FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME, FOR YOUNG CHILDREN OF COLOR TO LEARN CLASSICAL BALLET.

I'M NOW TEACHING THERE THREE TIMES A WEEK TO FABULOUS YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE STUDYING BALLET.

I ALSO AM WORKING WITH SEVERAL INSTITUTIONS IN WASHINGTON THAT ARE DEALING AND FOCUSED ON MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES AND CHILDREN OF COLOR, WHICH I THINK IS VERY IMPORTANT.

I'M WORKING WITH CANADA'S NATIONAL BALLET SCHOOL.

MANY SCHOOLS ARE VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN DIVERSIFYING THEIR SCHOOLS, THEIR COMPANIES, THEIR MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN VOICE TO BY ALL OF PEOPLE OF COLOR IN THE DANCE WORLD, AND ALSO HAS BEEN RECEPTIVE.

AND PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE POWER STRUCTURE, WHO ARE USUALLY WHITE IN THESE INSTITUTIONS, ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING AND FINDING OPPORTUNITIES TO DIVERSIFY.

SO, I'VE BEEN ADVISING SOME OF THESE INSTITUTIONS, AND SPEAKING QUITE A BIT, PROMOTING MY BOOK.

AND SO, I AM A BUSY BEE- >>ABSOLUTELY.

>>AND ENJOYING RETURNING TO MY PASSIONS AND TAKING THE SKILLS THAT I'VE LEARNED THROUGHOUT MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE AND APPLYING THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE RELEVANT TO MANY ASPECTS OF MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATION, THE ARTS, AND I'M VERY PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.

>>LAURI FITZ-PEGADO, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY.

CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN ON THE BOOK.

IT'S AN EXCELLENT READ AND VERY POWERFUL MEMOIR.

>>WELL, THANK YOU, DAVID.

AND IT'S AN HONOR TO BE WITH YOU, GIVEN THAT YOU ARE A COLLEAGUE IN THE PAST AND YOU REMAIN A FRIEND.

THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.

>>THANK YOU.

AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

WE'LL SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT WEEK ON ANOTHER EPISODE OF GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES.