Invention-Con 2023: Building tomorrow's innovation

Deepak Dashairya works in the Office of Innovation Outreach at the USPTO creating intellectual property (IP) awareness programs and managing outreach services to independent inventors, small businesses, entrepreneurs, makers, and universities across the nation. Dashairya is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with over 19 years of federal service.

Before joining USPTO in June 2020, he served in leadership roles at the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Commerce, both in Washington D.C. and the Detroit Metropolitan Area, where he currently resides. Dashairya received a Bachelor of Science in statistics and a Master of Science in applied statistics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

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Andrea Hence Evans is owner of The Law Firm of Andrea Hence Evans, LLC, an intellectual property law firm. She is a graduate of The George Washington Law School in Washington, D.C. She is a graduate of Spelman College and Georgia Institute of Technology, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Civil Engineering, respectively. Prior to launching the firm, she worked at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as both a Patent Examiner and a Trademark Examining Attorney.

Ms. Evans is also the owner of KidGINEER, LLC, a hands-on science and enrichment program for children. She is a member of the Texas bar and the U.S. Supreme Court bar. She is also a registered Patent Attorney. She is on the board of the United Inventors Association and she is a patent attorney on the television show, MAKE48. She is the owner of Boss-Squire, LLC, an elite mentoring and educational program for lawyers. She is also a best-selling author.

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Charesse Evans is a Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). For over two decades, Ms. Evans has delivered extensive intellectual property (IP)/patent and STEM expertise to entities at the intersection of technology outreach, scientific innovation, alliance management, and business development within academia, the federal government, and the private sector. She has advised organizations on matters related to patent protection, technology management, and innovation/disclosure capture, and has helped them increase efficiencies in their IP management processes.

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Leeanna Gantt is a breast cancer survivor and the inventor of tooktake. During her treatment, she noticed that there was nothing to track medications and vitamins that needed to be taken on different schedules. So she created a solution. Tooktake is a simple, label-based solution that helps parents, pet owners, teenagers, and kids track liquids, lotions, drops, ointments, and pills within their child-safe packaging. 

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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 as an 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.

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Alford Kindred has been with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) since 1997. His tenure includes serving as a patent examiner, primary patent examiner, Supervisory Patent Examiner, Acting Director of the Office of Information Management Services, Regional Manager of the Midwest Regional Office, and the Outreach Regional Assistant Director for the Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional USPTO located in Detroit, Michigan. He is currently the president of the USPTO Military Association. 

Mr. Kindred earned his Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering at Norfolk State University, and a master’s degree in Computer Resources and Information Systems at Webster University. He is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.  

Mr. Kindred has also founded mentoring groups for kids. He helps them learn about science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) and intellectual property through active participation.

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Amber Lambke is the Founder and CEO of Maine Grains, Inc., whose products are carried by specialty food stores and used by bakeries, breweries, and chefs throughout the northeast. She is also the founding director of the non-profit Maine Grain Alliance, whose flagship event, the Kneading Conference, draws hundreds of attendees from around the world each year and has spawned countless similar conferences. A driving force behind Maine’s sustainable foods movement, Amber has worked with local business leaders and community members to successfully bring the cultivation and processing of grains back to the northeast. Her efforts have generated a broader understanding and appreciation of the flavor, nutrition, and economic and environmental value of freshly milled, organic grains. 

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Shawn Mastrian is Co-Founder and CEO of Darkside Scientific, Inc., the creators of the patented LumiLor electroluminescent coating system. After graduating the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1991 with a Chemical Engineering degree, Shawn worked for over 30 years in various industries, with responsibilities that included production management, supply chain optimization, business process consulting, sales leadership, and executive management. He has worked for large companies, including IBM, EMC, and Accenture, and numerous start-ups as well.

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“Problems just require solutions" is Sheilisa McNeil-Burgess's favorite phrase, which is why she became a solutions-focused inventor and creator of Fria Cooling Jewelry and the Fria Consulting Group (FCG). Sheilisa leads her team in the development of tech-enabled fashion jewelry that offers women a “cool” new option for managing the physical discomfort of hot flashes and overheating. 

Prior to this endeavor, her professional career included 30+ years in the fields of public relations, corporate communications, professional writing, and collegiate-level teaching. In addition to her leadership role at Fria, she is also an Adjunct Lecturer at New York University's School of Professional Studies. 

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Cherie Monson is the founder of CLM Creations LLC and the inventor of the CLM Volumizer™, the first-ever universal diffuser hairbrush. After 10 years of prototype development, she applied for a design patent so she could start marketing her innovative hair tool. Three years later, Cherie retired early from her career as a Sales Consultant so she could put all her time into bringing the patented CLM Volumizer™ by CLM CREATIONS® to market. Even though she never planned to be an entrepreneur for her second career, she is enjoying her on-the-job training as she “bootstraps” the development and marketing of her first invention.

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Matt Nuccio is the president of Design Edge, Inc., a toy and game development company and licensing agency whose clients include Mattel, Hasbro, Spin Master, and Fisher-Price, to name only a few. For four years, Matt co-chaired the Toy Association's (TA) associate panel, representing all designers and inventors within the toy industry. Currently, Matt sits on the board of directors of the United Inventors Association of America (UIA), a non-profit organization working to educate and advocate for all types of inventors. He also sits on the People of Play (POP) advisory board and Toy Association’s Creative Factor advisory board, helping start-up inventors to navigate successfully within the toy industry. Matt writes a column in Toy Family Entertainment magazine focusing on the industry, and he has lectured at Chicago Toy and Game (ChiTAG) Week, the New York Toy Fair, the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA), the Hong Kong Toy Fair, and various inventor clubs around the world, including the 2021 Emerging Innovation Summit in Melbourne, Australia.

Design Edge's products have been nominated for, and have also won, many industry awards, including Toy of the Year (TOTY), Toy and Games Innovators (TAGIE), Games 100, Origin, and Family Fun, among others. In 2019, Matt was honored by the National Security Agency (NSA) as an American Innovator, and has been on Mojo Nation's list of the top 100 most influential people in the toy industry for the past four years.

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Chinwenwa "Chinwe" Ohanele is a content junkie, entrepreneur, attorney, and founder of Ohanele Law Firm. Licensed in California, New York, and New Jersey, her boutique law firm supports purpose-driven creators and entrepreneurs with business and intellectual property (IP) legal services. Centering education as a core value of her firm, Chinwe hosts trainings and workshops in partnership with various organizations and also speaks at conferences and workshops about the economic and social power of IP. In her role at the Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property, she looks to leverage IP education to support greater opportunity, innovation, and economic impact in underresourced communities. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and is dedicated to supporting the work of legal practitioners, government agencies, and institutions focused on leveraging the power of IP for economic development in Nigeria and the continent of Africa at large.

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Mariessa Terrell is an Attorney Advisor in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) Trademarks Customer Outreach Office. Prior to that, she served as a USPTO Trademark Examining Attorney; solo trademark practitioner; in-house trademark attorney consultant for Lockheed Martin and Leidos Corporations; and trademark and fashion law professor at Howard University School of Law (HUSL). In 2015, Mariessa was recruited to manage the USPTO Trademark Law Clinic at HUSL and helped develop a USPTO Patent Law Clinic in 2019.  

Mariessa earned her J.D. from HUSL; her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Pace University; and is admitted to the Maryland and District of Columbia bar associations.

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Warren Tuttle is the Open Innovation Director for MarketBlast, and also oversees the Open Innovation program for publicly traded Lifetime Brands in the housewares and table top arenas. Warren interacts with thousands of inventors every year and has initiated over 125 new consumer product licensing agreements that have collectively generated over a billion dollars in retail sales. Warren was the President of the 501c3 United Inventors Association for 12 years and currently serves as a board member on the National Pro Bono Patent Advisory Council (PBAC) and the Department of Commerce's Council for Inclusive Innovation (Cl²). Additionally, he co-chairs the Creator's Committee for the United States Intellectual Property Alliance (USIPA). 

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Vaishali Udupa is the Commissioner for Patents of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). As Commissioner for Patents, Ms. Udupa manages and leads the Patents organization as its chief operating officer. She oversees the agency’s 10,000 Patents employees, including more than 9,000 patent examiners responsible for fostering the country’s innovation system by providing patent protections to inventors as stated in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.

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Kathi Vidal serves as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) – America’s Innovation Agency.

As the chief executive of the USPTO, she leads one of the largest intellectual property (IP) offices in the world, with more than 13,000 public servants and an annual budget of more than $4 billion. She is the principal IP advisor to the President and the Administration, through the Secretary of Commerce, and is focused on incentivizing and protecting U.S. innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity. Named one of Managing IP’s top 50 most influential people in IP in 2022, she leads an agency whose mission is to help American workers and businesses compete and collaborate, especially in ground-breaking technologies and across all demographics. As Director of the USPTO, Vidal is working to expand American innovation for and from all, and to bring more ideas to impact, including serving as the Vice Chair of the Council for Inclusive Innovation (CI²), alongside Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo and the Council members, a Co-Chair of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE), and the Co-Founder, with the Secretary, of the Women’s Entrepreneurship (WE) initiative. 

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Daria Walsh is the inventor and founder of Infinity Clips, the first-ever necklace shortener for thin chains. As a seasoned entrepreneur and marketing professional, she combined her love of innovation and business to launch a successful brand that has received widespread praise for its functionality and design. Prior to this, Daria participated in the launch of multiple successful start-ups across diverse fields, including book publishing and fashion. She enjoys finding practical solutions to everyday problems and helping others realize their dreams of inventing.

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Delanie West is a marketing, business, and brand development leader with over 30 years of award-winning experience. As the founder and creative director of Be Super Creative, a marketing and brand development firm, Delanie is dedicated to creating value-driven intellectual property. 

Her innovative work as the first Creative Director for Black Girls RUN helped establish the brand's presence and aesthetic, making it the largest Black women's running brand in the United States. 

Delanie is also the President, Partner, and Chief Strategy Officer at Black Creatives, a global network of over 15,000 professionals in various creative industries. 

She has served on multiple boards and committees, including Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment (The WiT Foundation) and The Graphic Artists Guild National Board. Delanie is a student ambassador for the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at Syracuse University and was awarded the Women Innovator of the Year Award by The International Girls Academy in March 2023.

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Daniella Zakon holds a bachelor of science degree in Marine Biology and a master's degree in Environmental Studies and Business Management. She has worked across Asia and the Middle East as an environmental entrepreneur, with career research spanning coral reef ecosystems and water technologies, as well as launching and winning awards for her previous start up in the sustainable apparel space. Her focus is on creating businesses with low carbon footprints. She grew up in and currently resides in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where Upwell Cosmetics is based. Upwell Cosmetics is an ocean-based ingredients company that launched the first algae wax to replace petroleum wax in the personal care and cosmetic industries.

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Cordelia (Dede) Zecher is the Chief Advisor to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In this role, she supports the Office of the Under Secretary and the USPTO on a wide variety of policy and operational matters. 

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Angela M. Alban is president and CEO of SIMETRI, Inc., a Central Florida firm that provides innovative solutions for training through art and science. SIMETRI designs, develops, and fields creative technologies and capabilities for training military personnel, physicians, nurses, and first responders. Angela founded her company in 2009, putting into action years of industry experience, technical expertise, and a firm sense of personal responsibility to her customers and employees. Its multifaceted team of field experts are deeply committed to adapting to challenges and breaking new ground from the design phase, through the manufacturing process, all the way to a reliable finished product. Just as her company nurtures innovative ideas from concept to implementation, it also nurtures careers — Alban actively hires interns and integrates them directly with the SIMETRI team to provide opportunities for personal and professional growth. 

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Brandon Andrews is Co-Founder of Gauge, an AI-driven mobile market research platform connecting brands to consumers and influencers to identify opportunities and avoid mistakes. As Senior Consultant at Values Partnerships, he leads the company's work on technology and entrepreneurship, including leading a nationwide casting tour focused on bringing more diverse ideas and voices to ABC's Shark Tank and building inclusive ecosystems. He led casting for Bet on Black, a new business show on REVOLT highlighting Black entrepreneurs. Named a Global Innovation Fellow by the U.S. Department of State, he has traveled the world speaking and hosting events on entrepreneurship and innovation.

In 2022, he helped build and host the inaugural Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Entrepreneurship Greenhouse. He also led entrepreneurship programming in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and Dushanbe, Tajikistan, and hosted the Unleash+ pitch competition in Mysore, India. 

In addition to working with entrepreneurs, Brandon has helped lead nationwide engagement campaigns, including jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy (2022), Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre (2021), John Lewis: Good Trouble (2020), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), Fences (2016), ROOTS (2016), and Concussion (2015). 

He provides commentary on policy, politics, business, and technology on TV, radio, and the web.

A former Division I track athlete, Brandon is a graduate of Oral Roberts University.

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Hellen Johnson serves as the Senior Trademark Policy Advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In that role, she advises and confers with senior leaders on a variety of topics concerning Trademark Operations and Policy. She also provides strategic leadership on several initiatives that advance the Office’s mission of creating a more inclusive intellectual property ecosystem that strengthens our economic position. 

Hellen began her career with the USPTO as a trademark examining attorney and soon became a managing attorney. She led many teams and special projects that were driven by her commitment to create a strong and impactful connection between the public and the USPTO’s resources. She successfully coordinated trademark examination for the USPTO’s Law School Clinic Certification Program and trained a wide range of audiences on trademark basics. She also provided guidance to the governments of Pakistan and Ukraine on U.S. trademark law and policy.  

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Furman University, a Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern Shepard Broad Law Center, and a Masters of Law (LLM) in International and Comparative Law (with honors) from Georgetown University Law School. Prior to joining the USPTO, she litigated as an Assistant State Attorney in West Palm Beach, Florida.   

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Dr. Tom Driscoll is a technologist, inventor, and entrepreneur with a drive to advance the art of the possible. Dr. Driscoll currently serves as Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Echodyne, the Seattle startup bringing breakthrough radar capability to meet commercial and defense needs across the autonomy, security, and intelligence markets. Tom is a named inventor on over 100 patents, has co-founded five startups, and served on the boards of directors of three startups.

Tom holds a doctorate in physics from the University of California San Diego and a Bachelor of Science in physics from Harvey Mudd College.

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Charisma and passion are hallmarks of Orlando Espinosa's approach to empowering business owners to grow their businesses. He was a Small Business Administration (SBA) Miami’s Emerging Leaders Instructor 2016 to 2021, which led to him becoming a top instructor with Interise, the organization whose Streetwise Master of Business Administration (MBA) curriculum is used for Emerging Leaders. In that position, he created quarterly Emerging Leaders alumni meetings. He was selected to work with three cohorts in 2022 from South Florida and Puerto Rico with the new Train. Hope. Rise. Innovate. Venture. Elevate. (T.H.R.I.V.E.) SBA Emerging Leaders Reimagined program. He brings small businesses enrolled in this program together with alumni to help each other and do business together.

In his current role as co-founder of Emineo Media, Espinosa helps design, develop, and implement business and outreach curriculums for government agencies, municipalities, and organizations to market their brand by educating and training businesses. Emineo Media’s copyrighted curricula, CEO Minded, Step Up Your Start Up, 8(a) Ready, and Mission Possible: Strategies for Entrepreneurs have been implemented throughout Florida and other states. 
 
He graduated from Lee University with a bachelor’s degree in communication, and from Nova Southeastern University with a master's in education. He has also obtained certificates in Marketing and Leadership from Cornell University and the University of South Florida. Espinosa is the recipient of the U.S. Small Business Administration South Florida District and State of Florida Small Business Advocate of the Year for 2016 and 2018.

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Jennifer Funn is currently the Regional Director for Baltimore City and Baltimore County for the Maryland Small Business Development Center (SBDC), an affiliate of the University of Maryland at College Park. During her tenure as regional director, she has worked diligently to expand services to Baltimore City and Baltimore County's constituents. She previously successfully managed a transit-oriented development program at Maryland SBDC designed to revitalize the areas surrounding Prince George's County's green line Metro stations. 

Funn is also an Adjunct Professor at the Community College of Baltimore County, where she facilitates professional development training in business and entrepreneurial development. 

Funn previously served as a member of former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan's Chesapeake Conservation Corps Advisory Board, which provides oversight of service-learning opportunities and green job training programs supported by the Chesapeake Bay Trust. 

As a former restaurant and catering service owner at a historic waterside inn in Galesville, Maryland, she possesses insight into and appreciation of the struggles and perseverance of entrepreneurs. 

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David S. Gooder is the Commissioner for Trademarks at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Commissioner serves as the primary agency official for trademarks, domestically and internationally, and is responsible for all aspects of the Trademarks organization, including policy, petitions, operations, register protection, and administration relating to trademark examination, registration, and maintenance.

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Gregory Grant is the Assistant Director of Special Programs at the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at UNF, Government Contracting Specialist with the Procurement Technical Assistance Center at UNF, and an Adjunct Business Instructor for Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) and Trinity Baptist College (TBC). His expertise is in business management and operational improvements. Gregory has diverse business experience ranging from corporations to entrepreneurship. Over the past 25 years, Gregory has managed retail locations, corporate operations, and owned several businesses.

Gregory began entrepreneurship in Jacksonville, Florida at an early age. He worked in his family business as an independent tile contractor from 1989 to 1996. He joined the U.S. Army in 1996. After years of active military service and reserve duty in leadership roles, Gregory began using his managerial skills in retail management and corporate operations for large corporations in Florida. After working multiple years in management roles, Gregory began building independent companies.

Gregory is currently a Doctoral Candidate at the University of North Florida in the Doctor of Education (ED.D) program. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management studies and a Master's in Business Administration, along with certifications in process improvement dynamics and entrepreneurship. 

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Jonel Hein is the appointed District Director for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) North Florida District Office. As district director, Ms. Hein oversees the delivery of agency programs such as financial assistance, management counseling, and business development. She is responsible for the daily operation of the district office in Jacksonville and an alternate work site in Orlando, Florida.    

Ms. Hein's focus is on building and maintaining a viable network of collaborative partnerships with small business stakeholders and serving as a local resource representing the SBA at significant engagements. Additionally, her responsibilities include advancing the SBA brand recognition through SBA initiatives, Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), and strategic partner alliances.  

The North Florida District Office encompasses the 43 counties north of Orlando and through the Florida Panhandle, and services more than 1.6 million small businesses. The district office’s recent successes for fiscal year 2022 include generating almost $830 million in loan approvals, which created over 12,000 new jobs and over $745 million in contracting opportunities for our 8a firm portfolio.

Ms. Hein has been with the SBA for 32 years, previously serving as an SBA Loan Officer for over 6 years. Prior to her civil service, she worked in consumer lending with several banks in Florida and Washington State. 

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Abel Herrera is the President and CEO of IT Data Solutions, a certified 8(a), Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) small business that offers Information Technology (IT) consulting services. Since 2005, IT Data Solutions has been providing focused management consulting services specializing in IT solutions and tools for large private and public sector clients. As a Solution Architect with over 25 years of Information Technology experience, Abel and his team help organizations gain a competitive advantage by integrating and organizing their client’s data, so they can make strategic business decisions based on data analytics. In 2021, IT Data Solutions received the MBE Supplier of the Year award.

Mr. Herrera currently serves as a Board Member of the Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council (FSMSDC), and he also serves as the Chairperson of the FSMSDC Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Input Committee. In this role, Mr. Herrera strongly advocates for all certified MBEs in Florida, provides mentorship to MBEs, and recommends MBE programs to the Board. Mr. Herrera is also the 2nd Vice Chair of the National MBE Input Committee as well as the MBE-2-MBE Spend Chairperson. In this role, Mr. Herrera advocates for all certified MBEs in the United States, and also encourages all MBEs to work together and buy from each other. 

Mr. Herrera received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida (UCF), where he also served as the team captain and starting point guard of the UCF Knights Basketball team. 

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Amy Cohen Johnson graduated from University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science in Physics and a Master of Education. She worked as a high school science teacher at Springbrook High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. Ms. Johnson joined the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in March of 2002 examining Geometrical Instruments and Signals and Indicators and became a primary examiner in 2009. She became a Supervisory Patent Examiner in 2012 in the Circuits Work Group. In addition to supervising patent examiners, Ms. Johnson has supported the Office of Patent Training by leading training in a variety of programs. In February 2022 she was selected as a Training Advisor for the Office of Patents Stakeholder Experience.

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Kelley Kiernan is the Chief Technology Officer of the Department of the Navy Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. Kelley is on detail to the Navy for one year from AFWERX, a Technology Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force (DAF). 

Kelley is a Navy cybersecurity and small business ecosystem leader who applies her experience in industry, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and as an Air Force officer, pilot, engineer, and scientist to pave the way for small business innovation. 

A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, a scientist, an engineer, and a certified cybersecurity professional, Kelley's champion leadership brings cybersecurity within the reach of current and future Department of Defense contractors.

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Mark Madrid is Associate Administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development at the U.S. Small Business Administration. He leads a unit that supports more than 1 million small businesses annually. He also oversees the educational and technical resources arms of the SBA, which includes the network of Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, SCORE, Regional Innovation Clusters, and the Office of Entrepreneurship Education, which houses the Emerging Leaders initiative, Ascent women’s business online program, and SBA’s online Learning Center. Additionally, he supports the Agency Office of Native American Affairs and leads the American Rescue Plan $100 Million Community Navigator Pilot Program, which he erected alongside his team.

Previously, Mark served as CEO of the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative and Latino Business Action Network. Prior to serving in nonprofit executive roles, including CEO of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he enjoyed a corporate executive banking career that began on Wall Street in 1995 with J.P. Morgan.

Mark was the 2020 Recipient of the Latino Leaders Maestro Award in the Category of Leadership for his lifetime accomplishments as a distinguished influencer, and most recently, he was honored with the Courage in Government award by the National Business Inclusion Consortium. Soon, he will be named as one of this year’s U.S. 101 Most Influential Latinos.

Mark is a Jefferson Award recipient and an Honorary Colonel of the U.S. Army, illustrating his dedication to volunteer service and veterans.

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Raju Mohandas is a Florida Small Business Development Center at Florida International University consultant and President of BridgePoint Investment Inc. and BridgePoint Financial Group Inc., with more than two decades of experience in financial management and business turnaround. In addition to helping businesses obtain growth capital, he is adept at developing business strategies, incubating new business models, and building out channel programs. He has extensive expertise in operational and deployment strategies, including budgeting, job costing, strategic planning, and project management.

Raju graduated from the University of Miami with a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering and a Master of Business Administration in Finance.

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Ms. Cynthia Rhodes is the founder of Rhodes Porter, LLC and developer of “The Business Box” concept. In her role, she is responsible for the full scope of business management and government consulting. She has a keen ability to create revenue generation plans and strategies to increase access to capital.

A graduate of Augusta University, Ms. Rhodes has worked in the business background for over twenty years, developing capital projects and building multi-million dollar companies in construction, development, and project logistics management. As a real estate broker, she became an agent productivity coach  after selling affordable housing properties for the companies she helped build.

Cynthia currently shares her technical knowledge by volunteering as a business mentor, Outreach and Marketing Chair for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council, and Process Team Lead member with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) Association. She also serves on the Small Business Compliance Advisory Board for Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia; the Board of Directors for North Augusta, South Carolina Chamber of Commerce; and  the Ambassador Board for the Aiken. South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. 

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Charles E. “Tee” Rowe is the President and CEO of America’s SBDC, the association representing Small Business Development Centers, a nationwide network of over 1,000 centers providing free, confidential counseling and low cost training to small business owners. He joined America’s SBDC in August of 2009.   

A graduate of Dartmouth College and the Tulane University School of Law, Mr. Rowe has a long history of legislative and advocacy experience on behalf of the small business community. In addition to his job at America’s SBDC, he is the past Chairman of the Small Business Legislative Council, a nationwide association of 45 small business trade associations advocating for small business policies. He was also a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Council on Small Business.

Prior to joining America’s SBDC, Mr. Rowe served as Associate Administrator for Congressional and Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Small Business Administration from 2005 to 2009. He also worked for ten years in the U.S. Congress as Counsel to the Committee on Small Business in the US House of Representatives. 

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Greta is passionate about innovation, technology commercialization, and defense. At FedTech, Greta manages several advisory and accelerator projects for government and university partners, including the U.S. Army, the Department of Homeland Security, and the University of Maryland. Her passion for innovation stems from working with several startups across healthcare and bevtech spaces. Outside of entreprenership, Greta brings expertise in project management and strategy. Greta holds degrees from the University of Michigan, King's College London, and the University of North Carolina.

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Dr. Karen Vieira is owner of The Med Writers and is the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Miami’s 2018 Woman-Owned Small Business Person of the Year. She has a doctorate in Biomedical Sciences, a master's degree in Management, and years of corporate experience with a Fortune 50 company before starting The Med Writers. Her company currently holds contracts from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This allows her to teach from hands-on experience.

Dr. Karen Vieira is an experienced small business trainer, and she has written several small business curricula. She teaches marketing, sales, government contracting, human resources, and operations. She has worked with small businesses through teaching workshops and seminars, small group coaching sessions, one-on-one mentoring, implementation of writing and posting marketing, and writing and submitting government proposals. She is an alumni of the 2016 SBA Emerging Leaders.

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Bridget Weston is CEO of the SCORE Association, which provides free mentoring and education to current and aspiring small business owners through its network of 10,000 volunteers. In 2022, SCORE helped to start over 30,000 new businesses and create more than 82,000 new non-owner jobs. A respected thought leader in the small business landscape, Ms. Weston has served as a small business expert in Congressional hearings and has been quoted in numerous media outlets including CNN, MSNBC and Bloomberg Business. Ms. Weston earned her Master of Business Administration from Temple University and a Bachelor of Science in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Robert brings his passion for entrepreneurship, innovation, and government to FedTech as a Senior Analyst. He has spent his career at FedTech, working with researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and companies across different developmental stages and sectors, including defense, security, quantum, and healthcare. Robert specializes in lean/agile methodologies, business model canvassing, and stakeholder/customer discovery. He studied Entrepreneurship/Innovation and Government at American University, where he participated in the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) and consulted international startups.

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Jon Abboud is a communications supervisor in the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) Office of the Chief Communications Officer. His work in this role primarily focuses on developing comprehensive communications outcomes that are aligned with agency strategic goals, priorities, and processes. 

He has held leadership positions in healthcare, government administration, leadership development, and industrial production. In addition to his full time role with the USPTO, Jon is also a solo entrepreneur, managing his own business and executive coaching practice aimed at helping small business owners optimize their outcomes. 

Jon is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and holds a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in political science from East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania and a Master of Science in management and leadership from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

A native of the Philadelphia suburbs, Jon currently resides with his wife and daughter in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

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Derrick Brent is the Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). As the Deputy Director, he serves as the principal advisor to Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, managing a wide portfolio of programs and operations for one of the largest intellectual property (IP) offices in the world, with more than 13,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $4 billion. His responsibilities include working with Director Vidal to lead the USPTO; advance IP policy and procedures for the benefit of the country; expand the USPTO’s outreach efforts to incentivize and support more innovation and entrepreneurship nationwide; and execute the agency’s policies, priorities, and programs. 

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Dr. José Colucci-Rios has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin. He presently works as an Industrial Specialist at the National Program Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) – Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program. He has extensive experience leading and managing research collaborations that interface with government, academia, and industry. Previous careers and experiences include a detail at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); Professor, Administrator and Researcher at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Mayagüez; and a Research Engineer and Market Manager at Union Carbide. His recent honors and awards include being the 2018 recipient of NIST’s Bronze Group Medal Award, the 2019 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Hispanic Heritage Month keynote speaker; the 2020 NIST Uriano Award; and the NIST MEP Cash for Excellence Award. In 2022 he received a Commendation award from the Secretary of Homeland Security.

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Jamilah Corbitt is the Engagement Director at Established, a company dedicated to empowering startups and helping organizations with their innovation, startup, and communication strategies. Through Established's Startup of the Year community, they bring together the best startups with investors, mentors, and other experts to help rising founders build their networks and learn from some of the best and brightest in the industry. Jamilah's day-to-day includes managing large-scale projects and relationships with Established's clients and its network of Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs).

Additionally, the Washington, D.C. native and DC's Top 30 Under 30 alum has been involved in the startup ecosystem for 10+ years, with seven of those years in the trenches running her own business. She is a multi-award-winning speaker who believes in challenging the status quo and authentically showing up as yourself at work and in all other aspects of your life.

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Steve Dalton is the GENEDGE Alliance Regional Growth Manager for the Shenandoah Valley/Blue Ridge Region of Virginia. Steve's role is to establish and maintain new relationships with economic developers, industrial associations, and local manufacturing, industrial, and technology companies in his region. He collaborates directly with clients, managing the full lifecycle of projects and supporting them in their strategic goals.

Before joining the GENEDGE team, Steve worked as a Sales Manager Consultant and Leadership Coach at Peak Performance Coaching LLC; as the Owner, Entrepreneur, and Product Designer for HOUSEHOLDSUPPLIES.COM LLC; as Senior Team Leader at Allstate Insurance Corporation; and as the Virginia Territory Manager and Developer for Diamond Paper Corporation.

Steve holds a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from Averett University and a Master of Business Administration from Radford University. Certifications and affiliations include: ACC Leadership/Business Coach ICF (International Coaching Federation), Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) certification, and Chamber of Commerce Import/Export certification.

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NaThanya Ferguson serves as the manager of the USPTO’s Office of Innovation Outreach, which focuses on outreach to independent inventors, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and underrepresented communities of innovators across America.

Ferguson joined the USPTO in 1989. During her 33-year tenure at the agency, she has worked as a contracting officer representative, lead patent analyst for the Patent Process Reengineering initiative, strategic planning project manager for the Office of the Commissioner for Patents, and project manager for the National Council for Expanding American Innovation.

Ferguson has received numerous awards, including a Department of Commerce Gold Medal in 2015 for her contribution to the innovative and collaborative implementation of the First Inventor to File statutory provisions of the America Invents Act, a Department of Commerce Distinguished Career Award in 2011 for continued outstanding service, and a Silver Medal Award in 1999 for her contribution to the development and implementation of the Patent Process Reengineering initiative.

Ferguson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business and management from Johns Hopkins University and a Master’s Certificate in project management from Management Concepts and Regis University.

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Dr. John Gaskins serves as CEO of Laser Thermal as they innovate and manufacture the next generation of thermal metrology solutions. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia (UVA), John joined Dr. Patrick Hopkins group at UVA, eventually running day-to-day operations for a 10-15 person group as a Principal Scientist. He has authored over 50 peer reviewed journals and brings two decades of experience in small-scale material testing. Dr. Gaskins has quickly grown Laser Thermal to over 10 employees and leads their sustained growth as they continue to expand their portfolio of thermal metrology solutions to serve customer needs.

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Dahna Goldstein is Chief Investment Officer of Halcyon and Co-Managing Director of the Halcyon Fund.

Dahna is a Senior Fellow in the Digital Impact and Governance Initiative at New America, and co-founded Resistance by Design. She was the founder and CEO of PhilanTech, acquired by Altum in 2014, and she continued to serve as Director of Philanthropy Solutions. Prior to starting PhilanTech, Dahna worked for venture philanthropies, including Ashoka and Blue Ridge Foundation New York.

A graduate of Williams College, Dahna also holds a Master of Education degree, with a concentration in technology, from Harvard University, and a Master of Business Administration from New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business. She has written extensively about social impact. She has also taught courses in technology entrepreneurship at Georgetown University, where she is an Entrepreneur in Residence, and courses in blockchain at American University’s Kogod School of Business.

Dahna was named one of Newsweek’s “13 Women Entrepreneurs to Bet On” and one of BusinessWeek’s “25 Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs.”

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Elden Hawkes serves as Partnership and Innovation Specialist at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), a role that supports the advancement of the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/ STTR) programs. His primary duties include managing the agency’s Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program. Other duties include outreach efforts targeting Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and SBIR Road Tours.

Prior to SBA, Elden spent seven years with U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), where he helped grow the USDA’s SBIR program as its program specialist and program manager. He holds a degree in Environmental Science/Marine Science and a master's degree in Food and Agricultural Science, both from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

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As a serial “Grandmapreneur®,” Connie Inukai speaks to retirees or soon-to-be retirees on the benefits of pursuing entrepreneurship in retirement.

Retired from teaching Technical Writing at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University for four decades, Connie Inukai became an award-winning inventor at the age of 68. She is the author of several books on entrepreneurship in retirement, inventor of Tip 'n Split®, and creator of Write Your Selfie®, which inspires people to write their life stories in a fun and easy-to-read format.

Featured in Entrepreneur magazine's 6 Reasons to Pursue Entrepreneurship in Retirement, Connie encourages Baby Boomers to have an active retirement through business or social entrepreneurship, because passion has no expiration date.

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Chef Jackson is an accomplished chef, consultant, and motivational speaker. In Jackson’s short culinary career, he has been selected as a 2017 Black Enterprise Man of Distinction. He has also been featured on Dr. Oz, ABC’s The Chew, and most recently as a contestant on Shark Tank with the plant-based company Everything Legendary. Jackson's creation landed the company a deal with billionaire Mark Cuban, and now the plant-based burgers are in over 5,000 grocery stores across the country. Jackson recently accepted the role of executive chef for Slutty Vegan. With 10 locations in three states the company recently received a valuation of $100 million dollars.

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Robyn James, former Army brat from northern Virginia, is a Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Class A teaching professional, an inventor, a businesswomen, and a proud scratch golfer.

As a certified LPGA golf pro, she works with clients of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. For new players, she helps connect them to the sport with a ball marker that means something to them. Ball markers are great, but easy to lose. Traditional  metal clips can work, but did not provide the friction for the custom ball markers that she wanted. Looking to solve this problem, Robyn designed a clip with two strong magnets connected by a lightweight silicone strap, but there was a problem: fresh silicone has a pungent scent. The idea to infuse her clips with herbs and essential oils started as a masking effect until clients noticed that it also kept insects away. From there, the InfusenClip was born. 

Robyn James received her patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2021 (U.S. Patent No. 11,191,314) and launched the product commercially.

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A lifelong cycling enthusiast, Eric founded ALPEN after his sixth bike was stolen. He set out to bring convenience and security to the biking lifestyle, and ALPEN now exists to present a frictionless user experience for urban e-bikes in an effort to drive widespread adoption of e-bike technology as a sustainable means of transportation. Eric parlayed his background in the commercial real estate industry to forge scalable partnerships with some of the largest landlords in the world to upgrade their bike amenities in apartments, office buildings, and hotels, as well as universities and municipalities. Eric can usually be found in the outdoors, often on a bike or on skis. He graduated Princeton University in 2003, where he majored in Politics. 

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Bob Thorsen is a third generation custom home builder with over 40 years of experience at his construction company, Thorsen Construction. A natural inventor, Bob expanded his knowledge of tools from craftsmanship to innovation, creating the award winning Burro Buddy. This product is sold in over 5,000 brick and mortar stores, including Walmart and Lowe's, and has been seen on Fox Business, Fox News, and ABC’s Shark Tank. The Burro Buddy has continually received recognition for innovation, winning bronze in the International Design Awards, and is the three-time recipient of the Retailer’s Choice Award at the National Hardware Show.

Bob resides in Warrenton, Virginia with his wife Sudie, the inspiration for his innovations.

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Marlon Walker is a physical scientist in the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He is the manager for the MEP-Assisted Technology and Technical Resource (MATTR) service, helping small and medium-sized manufacturers by connecting them, through the MEP Centers, with the technical expertise of staff, laboratory facilities, and other resources of NIST. 

Prior to joining MEP, he was a research chemist in the Material Measurement Science Division in the Material Measurement Laboratory at NIST, with scientific interests in the creation and non-destructive characterization of engineered “soft-surfaces,” such as those made involving self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and thin organic films. Recent efforts centered around surface modification strategies using oligo (ethylene oxide)-based self-assembled monolayers for resistance of non-specific protein adsorption. Past studies included using in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry to explore the interactions of certain additives critical to the copper electrodeposition process, research relevant to the microelectronic industry. He is heavily involved in STEM-related outreach efforts to organizations, including the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE). 

Marlon received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Duke University, a Master of Science degree in Nuclear Chemistry from Indiana University, and his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology. 

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Sean Wilkerson works in the Office of Innovation Outreach at the USPTO creating intellectual property (IP) awareness programs and managing outreach services to independent inventors, small businesses, entrepreneurs, makers, and universities. Wilkerson previously worked as an outreach coordinator for the programs leading up to the opening of the USPTO’s Silicon Valley and Texas Regional Offices. He also spent a year as part of the New York engagement team that developed the 2015 Future of Urban Innovation Startups Summit in coordination with Columbia University and the USPTO.

From 2011–2013, he served as the program manager of the inaugural Select USA Summit, developing the program, structure, and outreach efforts of a U.S. government-wide program housed in the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. As an education program analyst in the Global Intellectual Property Academy from 2008–2011, he managed international programs focused on providing IP training related to enforcement of patents, trademarks, and copyrights and the U.S. patent and trademark system. Prior to working for the federal government, he served as the Director of Events for the National Association of Homebuilders in Washington, D.C. and as the Ideas Exchange Manager for Accenture in Reston, Virginia.

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