Sarah Elizabeth Kemp

Sarah Kemp, prior to her position in Hanoi in August 2011, was a Commercial Counselor for the U.S. Commercial Service in Beijing and was responsible for the day-to-day coordination of the Service’s 147 staff in Beijing and the five subordinate Consulates. She served in Beijing from 2006 to 2011. Before assuming her position in Beijing, Ms. Kemp was the Director of the Department of Commerce’s International Partner Network, overseeing operations in 14 second tier cities in China. In this capacity she was in charge of developing strategic corporate relationships with Chinese and US companies and government entities, implementing marketing campaigns and developing strategies to increase the program’s impact.

Before her tour in Beijing, she served as Deputy Chief Commercial Consul for the U.S. Commercial Service’s operations in Hong Kong and oversaw the Macau portfolio. Prior to Hong Kong, Ms. Kemp led the Beijing Information Technologies and Medical team for the Commercial Service. Her first overseas assignment was in Bangkok, Thailand during the Asian Economic crisis where she worked on economic policy and IMF issues. Ms. Kemp joined the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1992 as a Presidential Management Intern. During her tenure in D.C. she helped formulate and draft the first National Export Strategy and focused on U.S.-ASEAN trade promotion and policy, developing the White House initiative "the U.S.-ASEAN Alliance for Mutual Growth."

Before joining the Department of Commerce, Ms. Kemp worked for the Center for Chinese Legal Studies at Columbia Law School and the America-China Society in New York. Sarah received her Master in Business Administration from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2006), her Masters of International Affairs and Masters in Public Affairs from Columbia University (1992), and her BA in Psychological Anthropology from Hamilton College (1988).