Double Trojan and Triple President Jaime Lee BA’06, JD ’09
Jaime Lee BA (English) ’06, JD ’09 is the president and CEO of Jamison Realty and president of the USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association (APAA). In May, she will be sworn in as president of the USC Board of Governors.
What will be your goals as the new president of the USC Board of Governors? Why is this commitment important to you?
I am truly honored and thrilled to become the president of the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors this May. I have been on the board since 2011 and served on the Executive Committee for the past four years. This is a dynamic organization with widespread influence across campus and the USC alumni population. Through our programs and committees, we shape the involvement and engagement of alumni lifelong and worldwide.
Each president has been unique in the perspectives and experiences he or she has brought to the role. As a young alumna and a degree-holder from both Dornsife and Gould, I am looking forward to further enriching the outreach and engagement of the young alumni and graduate school alumni populations at USC. We are also continuing to strengthen our growing professional networks in real estate, education, veterans, entertainment and entrepreneurship and expanding our regional outreach across the United States with a new signature program that is just now taking shape.
What were your goals as president of APAA? Why is this organization important to you?
I joined the USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association board the year after I graduated from Gould. I felt the need to get re-engaged with USC right away, and I found a home at APAA. Since 2010, I have served on or chaired every committee for the board, culminating in my two-year term as president of the organization, which is coming to an end this spring.
The biggest priorities for the APAA are our scholarship program and alumni engagement. We provide scholarships (both need-based and merit-based) to stellar undergraduate and graduate students every year. We engage our constituent alumni around the world through programs and events, and we develop alumni leaders for continued volunteer service across campus. The APAA has grown immensely over the past seven years in all of these areas, recently reaching record numbers of scholars per year, total scholarship dollars awarded per year, total scholarship endowment, and numbers of alumni reached both online and at in-person events. We are also closing in on our $2 million campaign goal, which we hope to reach this spring. I am incredibly proud of this organization and everything we have achieved thus far.
What does your current professional work entail?
I am CEO of Jamison Realty, Inc., which is the leasing and brokerage arm of the Jamison group of companies. We are a family real estate company focusing on the acquisition, management and development of approximately 18 million square feet of commercial and multifamily holdings throughout Southern California. I work with my three younger brothers who are also all double Trojans (two Gould and one Marshall). I handle deal negotiations across our portfolio along with capital improvement projects and external relations. Our primary goals are to address the housing crisis in Los Angeles and to positively impact our surrounding communities through real estate.
How did USC Gould help you reach your professional goals?
I always knew I would go into the family business, so I always knew I wanted to go to law school. The legal education I received at Gould provided me with a solid technical foundation in subjects like organizations, accounting, business, litigation, contract law and contract negotiation, but, more importantly, I learned how to think like a business owner and real estate executive through a legal lens, which applies in risk mitigation, employment law, insurance and many other areas. I took all of George Lefcoe’s real estate classes and also worked as a course grader for him during my 3L year. Through his guest speakers, I had access to real estate titans from all areas of my industry, and I learned the most from their personal stories and experiences. The most important lesson of all: If you want to be successful in real estate in L.A., you have to be part of the Trojan Family!
Can you talk about the challenges of managing a large real estate company, holding multiple significant volunteer leadership positions and having a family? Any advice for the rest of us?!
There isn’t enough time in the day (or the week, or a lifetime) to accomplish everything that I want to, so I have to prioritize. When I was starting out, I said “yes” to everything and everyone. My plate filled up quickly, but I was learning a lot and gaining experience in different fields and organizations. It was very easy when I could go into work early and get home very late at night. As I began to rise in those organizations, however, I had greater responsibilities but limited time and resources available. I had to learn to turn opportunities down and then let go of commitments that could no longer be a priority. In doing that, however, I felt more free; I was once again giving 110% to organizations that I truly felt passionate about and where I knew I could make a difference. Outside of my USC commitments, I am an active civic and nonprofit volunteer, and I also have a 15-month old daughter with a baby boy due this summer.
Nothing makes you reassess your priorities like having a family. In law school, I took Susan Estrich’s Gender Discrimination class, and it was a revelation. At one point she told us that as women we have options for career, partner and children. We could be successful in two of those areas, but not all three. I resented that statement very much in my 20s, but in my 30s I see that is very much a reality (at least at any given time), and I’m sure I’ll only agree more as I get older. Any successes I’ve had to date cannot compare with the joy I feel in being with my daughter and the priority I place on providing the very best for her, including more of my time. I am lucky to be at a place in my career where I can take a little maternity leave and work a few fewer hours a week without it being a major detriment to my work and other commitments, but I also know that period will be short-lived. It doesn’t change the fact that moms who work full-time feel guilty full-time about being away from either home or office. I’m still figuring out how to turn the dials up and down on the different priorities in my life, and I have yet to find the person who has all of the answers, but it’s an ongoing conversation that is incredibly important for professional women to continue. For now, I do the most I can with the 168 hours I get each week.
