Thea Mei Lee is an American economist who served as the Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs at the

Department of Labor A ministry of labour (''British English, UK''), or labor (''American English, US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workfor ...

from 2021 to 2025. She previously served as president of the

Economic Policy Institute The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) non-profit think tank based in Washington, D.C., that carries out economic research and analyzes the economic impact of policies and proposals. Affiliated with the Labor un ...

, a

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Education

Lee completed her undergraduate degree in economics at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, Massachusetts where she graduated cum laude in 1980. She also holds a master's degree in economics from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Career

Prior to being appointed to the Department of Labor, Lee began her career at the Economic Policy Institute as an international trade economist in the 1990s. She then worked as the chief international economist for the AFL-CIO from 1997 to 2017. In 2017, Lee returned to the Economic Policy Institute as its president. President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

appointed Lee as the Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs at the Department of Labor on May 10, 2021. At the Department of Labor, Lee has focused on global labor protections, tackling issues from unsafe working conditions to child labor. A particular focus has been enforcing labor rights cases under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and implementing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

Personal life

Lee is the descendant of a Chinese railroad worker on her father's side and

Eastern European Jews The expression ''Eastern European Jewry'' has two meanings. Its first meaning refers to the current political spheres of the Eastern European countries and its second meaning refers to the Jewish communities in Russia and Poland. The phrase 'Ea ...

escaping the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

on her mother's side. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two dogs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Thea American women economists 21st-century American economists Biden administration personnel University of Michigan alumni Smith College alumni Living people 21st-century American women civil servants Year of birth missing (living people)