Dear Friends,

The Atlanta Press Club is thrilled to announce its new chief executive. The board of directors has unanimously selected Dawn Lasusky as the club’s next president. She succeeds Lauri Strauss, who is leaving the role after a decade of outstanding leadership. To ensure a level of continuity during this transition, I have offered and been appointed to serve a second term as chairman.

Dawn’s appointment came after a robust two-month process that vetted dozens of candidates and included a series of interviews with board members and staff. Dawn earned an overwhelming recommendation from both a selection committee and the board’s executive committee. She has a terrific sense of our journalistic mission, significant fundraising expertise and meaningful non-profit management experience. On top of those qualifications, Dawn has an energy that is infectious.

Biography
Dawn Lasusky is an accomplished professional with over 20 years of expertise in nonprofit management and membership association operations. Dawn brings significant experience in strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, development, policy analysis and internal/external communications to the APC.

Prior to joining the APC as president, she provided leadership and consulting services to Civil Justice PAC, Inc. of the GA Trial Lawyers Association, Georgia Commission on Family Violence & the Administrative Office of the Courts, Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, various nonpartisan judicial campaigns and others. With a lifelong interest in advocating for social justice, Dawn has also committed volunteer time and skills to numerous local, state and national organizations.

And perhaps most importantly, Dawn is a proud mother to Anna Clair, her 5-year-old daughter who has already developed strong opinions on exercising her First Amendment rights. Dawn finds great satisfaction in educating and supporting the next generation’s understanding of our guaranteed freedoms. Despite the occasional annoyance of rejecting broccoli at dinner or the insistence of excessively “creative” wardrobe choices, she welcomes and values the spirit of freedom of expression.

While the board did not want to see Lauri go, we are so thankful for the time we shared with her. She is a true professional whose commitment to the club is unwavering. In fact, she graciously worked with the board to help locate, hire and train the best possible successor. For that, we are grateful. Fortunately, Lauri won’t leave the club entirely as she forges a new path as a consultant. She will remain involved managing the club’s Loudermilk-Young Debate Series during this busy election year and implementing a program to educate the community on media literacy through a grant awarded to APC. Please do wish her well when you see her. Lauri can still be reached at lstrauss@atlpressclub.org.

We hope, too, that you will take the chance to meet Dawn soon at a Press Club event. We know she will want to meet you and hear any aspirations you have for our organization. Dawn can be reached at dlasusky@atlpressclub.org.

The board is confident that Dawn has the experience, determination and confidence to lead the club during its next stage of growth and success.

Best Regards,
Duane Stanford
Chairman
Atlanta Press Club