Inspiring Hispanic Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Carlos is the Associate Director in the Technology Transfer Office of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust. He was an associate investigator at University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Department of Biology, an adjunct professor at UPR Department of Physical Sciences, and the coordinator of the Neuroimaging and Electrophysiology Facility (NIEF). Carlos has published twenty-one peer-reviewed articles and is an inventor in several patents. He has a BS in chemistry, a Ph.D. in biochemistry, and an MBA with a finance emphasis. Carlos is a Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP), a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP), and a Registered Patent Agent. He was Co-Chair of the AUTM Better World Project.

Born in San German, Puerto Rico, and raised in Mayaguez, Facel (pronounced /feisel) studied at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Modern Languages and a Master's degree in Finance. Proficient in five languages, Facel's passion for language led her to teach French at the University of Puerto Rico. Her academic journey took her to serve as a visiting scholar in the Organizational Dynamics program at the University of Pennsylvania, where she taught Creativity and Innovation in Organizations and Works. Facel's entrepreneurial spirit was ignited by personal experience and challenges. After facing a condition that caused her severe pains and immobilized her to the point of occassionally needing to use a wheelchair, she recognized a need for innovative solutions. She invented and developed new durable medical equipment for beds, including two bed orthotics designed to enhance the positioning of wounded individuals. Since launching her medical technology venture in 2019, Facel has been actively involved in bringing her innovative products to the Puerto Rican market. Her entrepreneurial journey is a testament to her resilience, creativity, and dedication to improving the quality of life of others.

NaThanya Ferguson serves as the director of the USPTO’s Innovation Outreach Division (IOD) and leads the development and delivery of USPTO’s national outreach programs tailored to inspire, educate, and empower underserved and underresourced independent inventors, small businesses, and entrepreneurs. Under Ms. Ferguson’s leadership, the IOD team works collaboratively with federal government agencies and national organizations to increase the awareness of the importance of intellectual property protection and provide access to key resources to assist innovators with using their intellectual property to reach their full potential. Ms. Ferguson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business and management from Johns Hopkins University.

As part of the USPTO’s Technology Center (TC) 2600, Edgar Guerra-Erazo examines patent applications in artificial intelligence, including computational linguistics, speech processing, and audio compression, and also serves as a Technical Trainer. In addition to these duties, he is spearheading the USPTO’s Eastern Regional Outreach Office Spanish-language Intellectual Property (IP) quarterly series, in addition to supporting and presenting the same webinars in English. At TC 2600, he has also previously served as a Technology Quality Assurance Specialist Detailee, GS-14 Trainer Detailee, and participated in a White House Initiative to form a Pro Se Pilot Program Art Unit. 

Guerra-Erazo is the recipient of a U.S. Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award for fiscal year 2014, Exceptional Career Award for fiscal year 2019, and recently was selected as American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) 2022 Outstanding USPTO Patent Examiner. He has both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from George Mason University, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Carlos Gutierrez started his career with service in the United States Marine Corps working in the field of logistics. He completed two tours overseas, one of which was in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the Persian Gulf. Subsequently, Gutierrez held roles in the private sector, including several years as an Executive Team Leader with Target retail stores and Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at The University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley. 
Additionally, Gutierrez holds a U.S. patent, was the founder of several companies, and has served as an advisor for several nascent-stage tech startups. He has written and managed grants that have been awarded a total of $1.73 million. 

Gutierrez has served with several agencies within the federal government, including the Department of Energy, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the Small Business Administration. Gutierrez also previously served as the Director of the Texas Veterans Business Outreach Center. 

Gutierrez has a background in business development and program management in the private sector, state government, federal government, academia, and non-profit spaces. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in management from the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, and a Master of Science in technology commercialization from The University of Texas at Austin.

Lorena Molina-Irizarry serves as Senior Advisor for Puerto Rico and Data Equity at the U.S. Census Bureau and previously served as Senior Advisor for Puerto Rico Strategy and Implementation to the Department of Commerce. She has supported White House programs for Puerto Rico’s economic growth as liaison to the White House Puerto Rico Initiative, integrating the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts, and as Senior Advisor to the American Rescue Plan (ARP) implementation team, supporting the implementation of initiatives like the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. She is the co-founder and former Director of Operations at the Census Open Innovation Labs within the U.S. Census Bureau, bringing together technologists, government, and communities through open-tech collaboration, human-centered design, and innovation models. Previously, she served as the Deputy Chief of the National Partnerships Program, creating and implementing enterprise-wide infrastructure for engaging and collaborating with national, regional, and local partners in industry, tech, academia, and the civil sector to increase open data use and awareness.

Tanisha Orejuela Acosta is a professor, librarian, and PTRC representative at the University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón. Her academic background includes a bachelor's degree in Foreign Languages and Linguistics and a master's in Information Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico - Río Piedras. At the library, she specializes in reference services, information literacy, investigation, artificial intelligence, and intellectual property.

Eugenio Torres is the Managing Partner at Ferraiuoli LLC and Co-Chair of its Intellectual Property Practice Group. He concentrates his practice on intellectual property and technology, and entertainment law. He is an active promoter of high-impact entrepreneurship and angel investing in Puerto Rico. He has collaborated for many years with Grupo Guayacán and other non-profit entities such as the Puerto Rico Science and Technology Trust, Small Business Technology Development Center, and the Puerto Rico Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in furthering entrepreneurship on the Island.

Professor Gloria Viscasillas has dedicated her professional life to market research, business intelligence, and strategic planning, conducting research in 84 product and service categories in 27 countries. She has been an instructor at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, Sacred Heart University in San Juan, and Michigan State University. Viscasillas has also collaborated in the development of multiple professional development programs, including the development of the Professional Degree in Communications at Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic. Her personal long-term research focus has been in the development of tools to facilitate the classification of people for practical consumer understanding and the standardization of classification tools to understand similarities and differences across countries. Viscasillas led the Market Research Department of Procter & Gamble in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and Central America, and the integration of consumer understanding for Latin America. She also led the institutionalization of innovation in the Latin America region and the global management information integration initiative, being recognized with one of the first Clorox Diamond Awards for exceptional contributions. She was also the first director of Verizon’s Puerto Rico strategic planning and research functions, and led the Banco Popular Business Intelligence unit for 12 years.

Paola earned her Doctor of Juridical Science from Indiana University Bloomington, Maurer Law. She also holds a Master of Law from UC Berkeley and a Juris Doctor and Bachelors in Business Administration from the University of Puerto Rico. She is a professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, where she teaches Introduction to Intellectual Property. She began her journey in 2008 with "Culinary Road Trips Puerto Rico," a project that sparked her interest in intellectual property. She has shared her expertise on prestigious platforms such as the Georgetown Law SJD Roundtable and the University of Edinburgh Law Ph.D. Conference.