2025 National Patent Application Drafting Competition finals

Coke Morgan Stewart is the Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). By statute, she is currently serving as the Acting Under Secretary and Acting Director. As the acting chief executive, she leads one of the largest intellectual property (IP) offices in the world—a $4.2 billion operation with over 14,400 employees located across the 50 states and Puerto Rico. She is also the principal IP advisor to the President and Administration, through the Secretary of Commerce.

Ms. Stewart worked at the USPTO for ten years, from 2011 to 2021, and re-joined the agency on January 20, 2025. During her tenure at the USPTO, Coke served in many important roles, including as Acting Deputy Under Secretary and Acting Deputy Director, Acting Chief of Staff, Counsel to the Director, Senior Policy Advisor, Acting Deputy Solicitor, and Associate Solicitor. In these roles, she defended agency decisions in federal court and advised multiple administrations on a wide array of legal and policy matters, from patent eligibility to drug pricing to artificial intelligence. She was honored with numerous awards, including “Litigator of the Year” and Special Act Awards for her work supporting the agency during the pandemic and the 2020-2021 presidential transition.

Read Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewarts' full biography

As the Regional Director for the USPTO's Northeast Regional Outreach Office, Elizabeth Dougherty carries out the strategic direction of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, and is responsible for leading the USPTO's Northeast stakeholder engagement. Focusing on the region and actively engaging with the community, Ms. Dougherty ensures the USPTO's initiatives and programs are tailored to the region's unique ecosystem of industries and stakeholders.

Ms. Dougherty has more than 25 years of experience working at the USPTO. She served as the Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. In this role, she worked closely across the Agency's leadership to implement the policies and priorities for the USPTO. She began her career at the USPTO as a patent examiner after graduating from The Catholic University of America with a bachelor's degree in physics. While a patent examiner, Ms. Dougherty went on to obtain her J.D. from The Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America and served as a Senior Legal Advisor in the Office of Patent Legal Administration for a significant part of her career. Over the years, she has also served in the USPTO's Office of Petitions, the Office of Innovation Development, and the Office of Government Affairs.

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Nancy Kamei is the Chief Public Engagement Officer and Director of the Office of Public Engagement at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). As Chief Public Engagement Officer, she leads the Office of Public Engagement and is responsible for carrying out the strategic direction of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO by overseeing the strategy, promotion, and implementation of outreach, education, customer experience, and customer engagement activities across the USPTO.

Ms. Kamei has more than three decades of experience in all major aspects of the innovation ecosystem. She served on the startup teams of four Silicon Valley biotechnology startup companies and has more than 20 years of experience as an investor, having selected and managed portfolios of both public equities and venture capital investments.

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As Regional Outreach Officer for the Eastern Regional Outreach Office, Tomeka supports the strategic plans and goals of the agency with a focus on stakeholder engagement, outreach, and intellectual property education and training.

Her position provides her the opportunity to interact with and share the importance and impact of intellectual property with inventors, entrepreneurs, small businesses, students, universities, and organizations.

Her volunteerism helps her succeed in her current outreach role, as volunteerism and outreach are a lot alike. Tomeka has been a volunteer for as long as she can remember. For her, volunteering is a lifetime commitment. “I receive great joy from volunteering!”

Tomeka enjoys mentoring children and learning from them through volunteering. It keeps her technical skills sharp. She takes great satisfaction in spending her time investing in the lives of others. “I enjoy the benefits of being surrounded by the young people I mentor. It’s great to see the spark in their eyes when they do something that they have never experienced before.”

Since joining the USPTO in 2005, Tomeka has volunteered for several programs — Engineering Week, FIRST LEGO League, JAMTECH, Noches de Ciencias, the Girls Scouts and more. She says it’s energizing for her to participate in various educational activities, while empowering young people through STEM and STEAM programs with a focus on intellectual property.

Tomeka’s philosophy on volunteering is simple: “Giving back through volunteering equals an investment of a lifetime.” She believes it is important for people to give back because of the phenomenal impact it has. Over time, individuals who have been nurtured by participating in education and outreach activities often become volunteers themselves.

For Tomeka, volunteering is in her DNA, and working at the USPTO provides her plenty of opportunities to give back.