Susan Au Allen

Member at Large

Susan Au Allen came to the United States from Hong Kong on an invitation from the White House in recognition of her volunteer work for people with disabilities. She received her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University and LL.M. in International Law from the Antioch School of Law. During her 17 years with Paul Shearman Allen & Associates of Washington, DC and Hong Kong, she became nationally recognized for her work on immigration, international trade and investment.

In 1984, Susan founded the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Education Foundation (USPAACC) with a group of business and civic leaders in Washington, DC and California, to bring the diverse Pan Asian American business and professional people together as one unified voice in business, commerce and trade. In 2001, she won two Federal cases for her clients, took sabbatical leave from her law practice, and became USPAACC National President & CEO.

Long an effective advocate for small businesses on Capitol Hill, the White House, government, corporate America and the media, Susan achieved a new level of influence when President George H.W. Bush appointed her to the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States where she served from 1991 to 1996.

Susan is a frequent guest at the White House and Congressional events that address issues affecting America’s small, minority and women business communities. Her participation in these forums plays an important role in shaping the national agenda on the economy.

She is frequently approached by the media to comment on small and Asian American businesses, US-Asia commerce and trade, and Asian American women executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals.

Susan analogizes USPAACC as the acorn that has grown into an Oak Tree since its founding 28 years ago, with strong roots and wide branches extending to thousands of small and Asian American businesses and professionals across the country. She is proud of USPAACC’s ability to connect business to business, open doors to contract, educational and professional opportunities for Asian Americans which is the fastest-growing group with the highest business growth in the United States, and substantial social and economic connections to the dynamic Asian Pacific region, the world’s fastest-growing economic bloc.

Once an immigrant, she knows the obstacles that must be overcome to achieve the American Dream, and she has dedicated her life to help entrepreneurs to pursue their Dream - develop, grow and build a successful business.

Susan is a member of Pfizer’s Small Business Advisory Council; Diversity Council of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, International Franchise Association and American Red Cross; National Association of Women Business Owners National Advisory Council; and the Kennedy Center Community Board.

She has served on the President’s Council on the 21st Century Workforce Committee on the Future of the Workplace; the Small Business Advisory Committee of the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. General Services Administration; U.S. Marine Transportation System National Advisory Council; U.S. Small Business Administration National Women’s Business Council; NASA’s Minority Business Resource Advisory Committee; Women Small Business Summits National Advisory Board; Washington Board of Trade Board of Trustees for The Washington Initiative; Diversity Council of Time Warner, Wyndham International, Premier Automotive Group (Aston Martin, Jaguar, Volvo and Landrover); Board of Directors of the Virginia Small Business Finance Authority; Diversity Boards of AMTRAK and the U.S. Marine Corps; Commissioner of the Minority Business Opportunity Commission of the District of Columbia; and the Board of Trustees of Excelsior College in New York.

She has contributed op-ed articles to USA Today, The Washington Times, The Baltimore Sun, Asian Week, and Asian Fortune, and appeared as a commentator on C-Span, CNN, CNBC, ABC, Fox News, The News Hour, To the Contrary, This is America, and The Editor.

Susan was named Women Worth Watching by Profiles in Diversity Journal in 2013; America’s Top Diversity Advocates together with President Clinton, President Carter, and Oprah Winfrey by DiversityBusiness.com in 2007; and one of 50 Most Influential Asian Americans by A-Magazine in 1994.

Among Susan’s awards are the Urban Wheels Lifetime Achievement Award (2010), DiversityBusiness.com Top Diversity Advocates (2007), Minority Business Hall of Fame (2005), National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers’ Diversity Advocacy Award (2006), NASA Special Recognition Award for Extraordinary Efforts in Promoting Small Business Programs Nationally and Internationally (2002), AT&T Spectrum Award for Advocacy for Minority Business Opportunity (2001), and Skirt in Power Award from the District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce (1992).

Susan speaks (Cantonese and Mandarin) and writes Chinese fluently. Married with two sons, she lives in McLean, Virginia.