Elizabeth (Liz) Caraway is the Senior Military Advisor to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In this role, Ms. Caraway supports entrepreneurship in the military community, promotes military child STEM education, protects defense innovation, and promotes agency veteran and military spouse recruitment and retention. She also stood up the agency’s first Military Working Group, aligning enterprise efforts to support the military community.
In her permanent agency position, Ms. Caraway specializes in social media and veteran recruitment on the Office of Human Resources marketing team. She also serves as a board member, communications manager, and newsletter editor for the 280+ members of the USPTO Military Association. A former Air Force Public Affairs Officer, Ms. Caraway served in Delaware, Turkey, Germany, and Colorado on active duty for almost six years and as a reservist with the 445th Airlift Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, for three years. She also served an active-duty assignment teaching English at the U.S. Air Force Academy. In her varied professional experiences, she has co-owned a defense small business, worked in both financial and medical records capacities in the private sector, and directed public relations for a state nonprofit organization.
Before joining the USPTO, Ms. Caraway served as the editor of publications for the Department of the Army Retirement Services, managing strategic communications planning and newsletters with a combined readership of 1.2 million service members, veterans, and military spouses.
Ms. Caraway has a Bachelor of Science degree in English from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a master’s degree in English from the University of Delaware. She is also a graduate of the Defense Information School’s Public Affairs Officer Course.