PERSON OF INTEREST

PEOPLE

Michele Rigby Assad

Former undercover officer for the CIA.

INTERVIEWER: THERESA CAMPBELL ≈ PHOTO: DOUGLAS TYLER

VITALSTATS

• Childhood hometowns: Mount Plymouth, Mount Dora. • Graduated from Tavares High School. • Current hometown: Brevard County. • Occupation: Author, inspirational speaker, international security consultant.

What I hope readers glean from “Secret Cover,” my tell-all memoir of my secret life as a

spy in the CIA: We are all capable of so much more than we think.

Greatest career

accomplishment: Protecting our

country and its interests from terror attacks at home and abroad.

Best advice I ever received:

Winning is a state of mind. Never stop trying, working, believing and fi ghting to be a winner.

Describe being part of the rescue mission to relocate internally displaced Iraqis to Slovakia, which was featured on ABC’s “20/20”:

We went through an enormous range of emotions: deep sadness and empathy for the people we were dealing with who had lost everything; fear that we might not fi nd a country willing to take them in; determination to try as hard as we could; hope that something would come through; shock and complete joy to see miracle after miracle unfold before our eyes; and massive gratitude to God for the ability to help some of them establish new lives in Europe.

My message to audiences:

Don’t let fear, doubt, intimidation or uncertainty keep you from living a life of adventure and positively infl uencing the world around you.

The challenge of leading a double life: You

could never let your hair down or relax. We were always on our toes and looking for hostile surveillants who might be trying to target us.

What I hear most at speaking

engagements: “You’ve inspired me to get out of my comfort zone and have more confi dence!”

Memories of growing up in

Lake County: Climbing trees, roller skating and playing dodgeball with neighborhood kids. Lake County was an awesome place to grow up.

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