Lissette Elena Brassac-Fitzgerald

Interim Executive Director

About 12 years ago, after a 20+ year career in Marketing and Editorial, I pivoted toward dedicating all of my time to my true passion: Empowering people through non-violent communications, self-defense practice, empathy, and community.

With 20 years’ experience creating curriculum for and teaching Empowerment Self Defense, I founded and Chair the nonprofit I established with my partner, ASSERT Empowerment Self Defense, which focuses on providing Empowerment Self Defense education to communities across the country. I also head ASSERT Professionals, an Empowerment Self Defense service provider for civilians; NGOs and nonprofits looking to create safer protest and civil disobedience spaces and training for their activists; corporate clients looking for team building and safety training and protocols, law enforcement and security companies and institutions – private and public, looking to reform and provide socially conscious, culturally relevant training to their officers with a focus on equity and human dignity; and special operations teams in need of supplementary close quarters combat training.

My amazing spouse, Cat, is my partner in life and adventure. We live in Nashville with our cat, Ku Bu no Neko-Do and our Siberian Husky, Leto Atalanta, where we run an Empowerment-based martial arts dojo. We are proud of our two grown children, one of which is training to become a chef and one who serves in the US Navy. At age 53, I hold a Sandan in Aikido, a 5 th Dan in Tae Kwon Do (6 th in the Fall of 2024), and am a Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Kali Instructor.