Teresa Stanek Rea is the former Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and former Acting Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Rea obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy in 1976 from the University of Michigan, and her Juris Doctor degree in 1980 from Wayne State University. On February 17, 2011, she was appointed to the USPTO as Deputy Director by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke. She assumed the dual roles of Acting Undersecretary and Acting Director after the resignation of David Kappos on February 1, 2013.