As Associate Dean for Advanced and Professional Programs, Susan Kamei works with faculty of USC Dornsife and other USC academic units to develop and offer lifelong learning and distance learning initiatives, including continuing education, professional development, executive education, pre-baccalaureate, and post-baccalaureate programs. She also directs the Master of Liberal Studies Program.

Kamei graduated from the University of California, Irvine, where she earned a B.A. in Russian and a B.A. in Linguistics. She received a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where she served as editor of the Georgetown international law review, Law & Policy in International Business. She also holds a certificate of foreign study from Leningrad State University (now St. Petersburg State University).

She practiced corporate law with Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP and served as regional general counsel for Mobil Land Development Corporation, a developer of master-planned communities. From 1988 to 1999, she was with the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development in numerous capacities, including executive officer for the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, and associate director and adjunct associate professor in the Master of Real Estate Development Program.

From 1999 until her appointment with USC College in 2006, Kamei was with the Urban Land Institute, the preeminent nonprofit educational organization for professionals in the real estate and land use disciplines worldwide. As ULI Los Angeles District Council Executive Director and subsequently as ULI Senior Vice President of Global Exchange, Kamei pioneered programs and methodologies for professional education and community outreach that have served and continue to serve as the basis for ULI’s domestic and international expansion and growth.

Kamei serves on the board of directors of the Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs.  She is a recipient of the 2000 “Woman of Courage” Award from the Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women for her leadership and service in business, academia, and the community. She has served as an advisory board member of the USC Center for Sustainable Cities and as a trustee of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Educational Foundation. Past civic work includes serving as National Deputy Legal Counsel and member of the legislative strategy team that was successful in passing Federal legislation redressing Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II.