Nancy Patton Biographic sketch

Institute for Corean-American Studies

Nancy Linn Patton
Biographic Sketch

Ms. Nancy Linn Patton was appointed as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Economic Policy for Asia and the Pacific in the International Trade Administration (ITA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce on April 1994. In this capacity she was responsible for management of ITA's divisions for: China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan; South Asia and Oceania; Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Korea; and the Office of Asian Affairs and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Her duties included advising the Secretary and other senior officials at the Department of Commerce on economic policy affecting trade and investment in the Asia Pacific and South Asia regions. In addition, she was responsible for the planning, preparation of commercial issues, and implementation of Secretarial and Presidential business development trade missions to East and South Asian regions. Additionally, she was the principal negotiator for the Department at APEC fora as well as the other U.S. bilateral fora including ASEAN, China, Taiwan, Korea, Pacific Island Nations, and Australia. Ms. Patton currently offers her recent experience and expertise as an independent consultant with a focus on international economic trade policy and commerce in the Asia Pacific region.

Previous to Ms. Patton's appointment at the Department of Commerce she was an IBM corporate program manager in the Office of Government Programs. In 1989, Ms. Patton was selected by IBM as a Brookings Institution Congressional Fellow to serve in the Office of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives serving both the Honorable Jim Wright and Honorable Thomas S. Foley on the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. Previous to her congressional assignment and beginning with her IBM career in 1973, she successfully held positions within the company in the areas of marketing, technical development, and management.

Ms. Patton is active in Washington community affairs and has served as chairperson on the board of Studio Theatre as well as president of the National Organization of Chinese American Women. In addition, she is a member on the boards of the National Conference, Project Northstar, and is a past director of Food & Friends, Organization of Chinese Americans, and Food for All Seasons.

ICAS Web Site Links for Nancy Linn Patton:

U.S. - Korea Trade Policy and Promotion

1997 Chonju Symposium

ICAS Fellow Roster

This page last updated 9/24/2010 jdb