2024 Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium: Understanding the global impact of women in IP

Gillian Henker is a two-time founder with a proven track record of execution. She is the primary inventor of Hemafuse and two other medical technologies. She led Hemafuse development, global regulatory clearances, and launches in five countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe. She has been published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, has presented at the Midwest Biomedical Engineering Career Conference and Appropriate Healthcare Technologies for Developing Countries Seminar in London, and was named Baltimore Technologist of the Year.

Sharon Israel is the Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In this position, she serves as a policy advisor to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO and Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for IP and Deputy Director of the USPTO. She oversees the USPTO’s domestic and international policy matters related to intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement and on IP-related trade issues, including proposed legislation and international activities of the U.S. She also oversees the Office of Policy and International Affairs’ (OPIA) education and training programs through the Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA); global advocacy initiatives through the IP Attaché Program; and economic analyses through the Office of the Chief Economist, among her many duties.  

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Christine Sanni is a wife, mom of four, and an award-winning technologist, inventor, and creator. She is CEO at Sybal Corporation, a governance innovation firm she helped found in 2020. Christine began her career as a technologist in telecommunications over a decade ago, where she advised and consulted regulated industries on advanced technology solutions. Over her professional career, Christine expanded her focus to technology distribution channels, advising and consulting other technology consultants, managed service providers (MSPs), entrepreneurs, and technology providers who sell into regulated markets. Beyond her love for technology, Christine is committed to leaving this world a better place by empowering others to thrive — to create the impact they are here to create.

Stephanie VanPutten, Fortune 40 Under 40 and international backcountry skier, is an exited founder and CEO of Blendoor, an enterprise SaaS company best known for the award-winning BlendScore™, also known as “the FICO score for corporate culture.” Her work has been featured in The Atlantic, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Tech Review, the New York Times, Fortune, Forbes, and Bloomberg. Stephanie’s career spans over 20 years in tech, consulting, and finance with Microsoft, TripAdvisor, Lockheed, Deloitte, two tech startups, and the Equity Alliance, a hybrid venture fund. Stephanie is currently a trustee at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the executive director of Visible Figures, an executive network and platform for women leaders across the diaspora. She holds a Bachelor of Science in management science and engineering from Stanford University and a Master of Business Administration from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Laura J. Winston is the chair of Offit Kurman's intellectual property group. Laura focuses her law practice primarily in the areas of trademarks and copyrights, representing a broad range of both domestic and international clients, from individual business owners and small startup ventures to established Fortune 500 and publicly traded companies. Her experience extends across various industries, including animal health, gaming software and hardware, alternative energy, consumer products, and numerous others.

Laura’s practice covers the full range of trademark services, including strategic advice on domestic and international trademark protection strategies, transactions, searching and clearance, acquisition and registration, opposition and cancellation proceedings, and domain name disputes litigation. With over 25 years of legal experience, she has successfully obtained thousands of trademark registrations for her clients. In the past 10 years, Laura has obtained the transfer of 25 infringing domain names, in several of these cases stopping the phishing attempts of the perpetrators.

Additionally, Laura is an active member of the International Trademark Association (INTA), where she currently serves on INTA’s Public Information Committee and is a former subcommittee chair of INTA’s Brands and Innovation Committee. She regularly facilitates INTA Table Topic discussions for U.S. and international participants in areas such as trademark searching and clearance, meeting the complex use requirements needed to obtain registration in the U.S., and cost-effective international trademark protection strategies.

Laura is also an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law and has served on the faculty of Brand School Masterclass by BrandTwist, an online branding course targeted at small businesses and entrepreneurs.