Invention-Con 2024: Expanding your intellectual property potential – Day one

Erika Bahr is the co-founder and CEO of Daxe, Inc., an innovative company specializing in AI-powered data room platforms. With over a decade of experience working with Fortune 500 companies, Bahr has a strong background in managing data pipelines and building advanced machine learning models. She has played a key role in developing go-to-market strategies for AI solutions at AWS and has a deep understanding of data security and compliance. 

Bahr participated in the US DoD NSIN Foundry program and was a finalist at the showcase, demonstrating her commitment to advancing technology in highly regulated sectors. Under her leadership, Daxe is developing the next generation of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems, offering highly accurate and secure AI solutions tailored for industries with stringent regulatory requirements. Bahr’s expertise in AI and data management is complemented by her academic achievements, including her alumni status from the Harvard Business Analytics Program and the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business MSBA. Passionate about empowering women in tech, she is actively involved in hosting industry events and fostering innovation in highly regulated sectors. 

Mariane Bekker is a tech executive and the founder and CEO of Women Founders Bay, a non-profit that helps female entrepreneurs grow their startups. She runs one of the largest and most active communities of female tech founders in the Bay Area. Bekker is also a General Partner at Progressive Ventures, an early-stage venture fund in Silicon Valley that invests in innovative AI startups. 

Alison Denbigh is a serial entrepreneur in diverse industries, including Skyler Innovations—the inventor of the Watch Ya’ Mouth board game. It reached #1 on three Amazon platforms in 2016 & 2017. The game received the Australian Toy Of The Year award in 2017. It has been eight years since its inception and still selling strong on retail stores/e-commerce platforms, making it an evergreen product.

President, United Inventors Association, Inventor, Board Member USIPA, FLIPA, IFIA, Author, Podcaster, Investor, Patent and Trademark Holder. Carmine Denisco has directed the launch, design, development, and manufacture for hundreds of products as seen on Shark Tank, shopping channels, online, infomercials, and retail shelves, some of which have gone on to be licensed by major companies. Denisco is dedicated to helping product developers correctly navigate the development and manufacturing process, giving each their best shot at success. Currently CEO of EarMark Sourcing, Carmine consults with a large number of consumer product brands across every major category to be sold in retailers around the world. Don’t miss his monthly New Product Show on Fox News!

As the Eastern Regional Outreach Director for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), 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 East Coast stakeholder engagement. Focusing on the region and actively engaging with the community, Dougherty ensures the USPTO's initiatives and programs are tailored to the region's unique ecosystem of industries and stakeholders. 

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 of the USPTO. She began her career at the USPTO as a patent examiner and 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. 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. Dougherty has dedicated much of her career to the USPTO's outreach and education programs focusing on small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs. 

Gillian M. Fenton, Esq., CLP recently became the founder and managing director of LST Strategies LLC, a specialty law practice dedicated to life science transactions.  She is also a Practitioner in Residence at the Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy, hosted by George Mason University. Previously, she served GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) as Vaccines Special Counsel for Innovation and Government Collaborations. Fenton supported a wide variety of international business development transactions, R&D collaborations and strategic alliances to feed the pipeline for GSK’s vaccines and infectious diseases business segment.  

She also negotiated and managed GSK Vaccines’ R&D U.S. Government Contracts, patent licenses, and scientific collaborations with NIH/NIAID, BARDA, DARPA, CARB-X and NIIMBL. Before joining GSK, Fenton was VP, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at Emergent BioSolutions Inc., where she founded the IP department and supported all IP aspects of the company’s IPO and subsequent 9 years of growth through M&A in the vaccines, biodefense, and global health fields. Fenton also spent over twelve years in private practice at law firms in Boston, MA and Washington, DC.   

She is an active member of the Licensing Executives Society (LES, USA & Canada), and served as the society President in 2020-2021. Fenton’s contributions to LES and to the field of licensing were recognized with the society’s Frank Barnes Award in October 2022.  She has been listed in the IAM 300 since October 2023. Fenton has published several manuscripts on the Bayh-Dole Act and speaks frequently on this and other topics of interest to the licensing and dealmaking community.

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.

Serial entrepreneur, inventor, innovation maven, perpetual problem solver, and accomplished marketing executive Raquel Graham has an unwavering commitment to helping people make their lives better. This passion has inspired her inventions, propelled her award-winning entrepreneurial journey, and fueled her resilience and tenacity in the face of adversity. For over 17 years, she led strategy, media production, and content management solutions for editorial, consumer, and philanthropic clients such as international brands McDonald's and Honey Can Do.  After helping corporations elevate their brands for more than 25 years, Graham established her own product development company, ROQ Innovation. 

Inspired by her own life journey, Graham creates custom-made products that solve everyday problems, making people’s lives easier and more fulfilling. Two of her innovations, NEKZ® (a scarf alternative) and HEADLIGHTZ™ (a rechargeable beanie that provides hands-free LED lighting for outdoor activities) sold out during her appearances on HSN (Home Shopping Network). She now has multiple products on the network, fulfilling her dream to “invent products that sell on a TV shopping channel and make money while she sleeps.” Graham has been featured multiple times on ABC’s The View, Good Morning America, in Forbes and Entrepreneur magazine, twice on Oprah Magazine’s “The O List” and three consecutive years on Oprah’s Favorite Things List. She recently appeared in Shark Tank (receiving an investment from two sharks) and gave a TEDx talk at her alma mater Wesleyan University on “The Business of Resilience."

Alan Guyan is an accomplished executive with a career spanning more than 25 years that encompasses product creation, manufacturing innovation, and business development within the realm of 3D printing. Throughout his professional journey, Guyan has led diverse global teams, orchestrating the conception and launch of pioneering products and solutions across various sectors, including aerospace, medical, and footwear. 

As the Founder and CEO of Made Plus Inc., Guyan is reshaping the footwear trajectory by bridging consumer desires with efficient, waste-reducing manufacturing through an innovative platform. Previously, he founded Additive Accelerator, guiding startups and enterprises in harnessing additive manufacturing's potential for refined workflows and revenue growth. Guyan consulted with large brands on adopting additive manufacturing and led the development of new manufacturing technologies to drive revenue growth. 

During his tenure at Under Armour, he was the Director of 3D Design and Manufacturing Innovation for Under Armour’s Manufacturing Innovation Center, Lighthouse. In this role, he leveraged performance goals to innovate the product experience for footwear, apparel, and accessories. He also served as the brand’s resident expert on all additive manufacturing and directed 3D design and manufacturing innovation, driving breakthroughs in wearables, the first 3D-printed training shoe, and the MagZip zipper.

James Howard is a lecturer, design historian, and industrial designer/inventor of some 300 products with 20 patents. He owns and operates “Bridge” Exploring New Career Pathways, takes students through the problem-solving processes: problem/necessity, solution, and execution and leads them to new career pathways and job opportunities. Howard serves as Executive Director of The Black Inventors Hall of Fame, a virtual museum devoted to immortalizing African Americans whose noteworthy inventions have improved lives yet gone unnoticed. 

Howard also serves on the board of directors for the United States Intellectual Property Alliance, and recently assisted the National Inventors Hall of Fame to curate their very first Black inventors exhibit: Breaking Barriers. He serves on the advisory board for the American Institutes for Research, addressing the question - Does Race and Gender of the Patent Examiner Matter for Innovation? Howard is also the recent recipient of the TAGIE award for his documentary film, The Gathering, and the co-producer of the groundbreaking film, The Great Equalizer, examining fairness in the patent system. He has served as a subject matter expert on design thinking for the Keller Innovation Center at Princeton University. He is also a visiting lecturer for the University of Texas Center for Integrated Design.

FedTech enables government, large organizations, and startups to commercialize R&D technologies through various customized programming. They have screened 5500+ technologies, trained 2000+ researchers, and accelerated more than 400 startups. Their portfolio firms have raised over $1 billion in private investments. Asmod is in the growth team at FedTech supporting strategic efforts in regional and international markets.

Jerry Ma serves as the Director of Emerging Technology at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), overseeing a comprehensive portfolio of artificial intelligence and emerging technology matters within the agency. In this role, Ma provides strategic and technical leadership toward ensuring that the USPTO deploys innovative technologies in service of innovators, and that the USPTO adopts forward-thinking policies to support new domains of invention and creativity.

Prior to joining the USPTO, Ma developed engineering and infrastructure agendas for global R&D teams, overseeing major initiatives resulting in the world's first public-domain superhuman Go bot and the first deep neural network to be trained on the known protein universe. Ma's scientific research has been published at venues such as ICML, ICLR, AAAI, PNAS, and S&P, and he has taught computer science & mathematics in undergraduate, graduate, and professional settings across multiple institutions. Ma holds an A.B. in Economics and the Classics from Harvard University, and he is admitted to practice before the USPTO.  

Dawn Myers is a Founder and CEO in the hardware, CPG, and retail space and a DC region ecosystem builder, having held several leadership positions in nonprofits in the tech and startup sphere. She started her company, THE MOST, Inc. to make products to meet the nuanced needs of women of color through physical products, but engineering and manufacturing tech-enabled hardware takes an incredible amount of capital and training. Myers had to get creative to raise funds to surmount the heightened barriers to entry in this space and quickly found herself advising and coaching other women on how to work what they have to get what they need.

A Howard University JD and adjunct professor of Entrepreneurship at Georgetown University, she is committed to creating quality programming for founders striving to innovate for their communities. Myers was named one of Washington, D.C.'s Tech Titans by the Washingtonian and her startup was named one of Washington's top 21 Startups to watch by The Washington Business Journal. She has negotiated partnerships with and secured funding from the world's top manufacturers including Dow, Proctor and Gamble, Sephora, and Glossier for her patented technologies in the personal care and beauty space. Her patended invention was named Baltimore's 2023 Invention of the year by Technically DC. She is among fewer than 100 Black women to have secured over $1m in venture funding, and has secured investment from the spaces most elite investors including Mark Cuban and Emma Grede. 

With over 30 years of experience, Design Edge has established itself as a premier toy design and development firm, contributing to the success of iconic products and brands like Creepy Crawlers, Tickle Me Elmo, Nintendo Power Glove, Laser Challenge, and Barbie Sparkle Kingdom. Since 2008, Nuccio has actively contributed to the toy industry through volunteer work. For four years, he chaired the Toy Association (TA) associate panel, advocating for designers and inventors. Currently, Nuccio holds positions on the Board of Directors of the United Inventors Association of America (UIA), the People of Play (POP) advisory board, and the education committee of the Toy Association (TA). 

In 2023, he was elected as a board member of the International Federation of Inventors Association (IFIA) by the United Nations, representing the U.S. independent invention community. His insights and expertise are widely recognized in the industry. He authors a column in Toy & Family Entertainment magazine, addressing key topics in the field, and is a sought-after speaker, having lectured at prestigious events such as New York Toy Fair, ASTRA, ChiTAG, and the Hong Kong Toy Fair. In recognition of his contributions, Nuccio has received prestigious honors. The National Security Agency (NSA) named him an American Innovator in 2018, and he represented the United States at the Emerging Innovation Summit in Melbourne, Australia, in 2019. Additionally, he has been listed by MOJO NATION as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the toy industry for consecutive years.  Matt's diverse contributions, spanning design, advocacy, and mentorship, underscore his leadership and vision in the industry. His dedication continues to shape the world of play, leaving a lasting impact for generations to come.

Christie Thoene supports the government affairs, technology licensing and legal teams at Qualcomm with external communications regarding U.S. and international policy, regulatory and legal matters. In this capacity, Thoene works closely with Qualcomm’s senior management and executive team to position Qualcomm and its leading-edge technologies with the media, industry analysts and other key stakeholders. Her work covers a wide range of complex public policy and legal issues including litigation, intellectual property rights, antitrust, standards, national security, and trade as well as state and local issues. 

She also supports Qualcomm’s advocacy campaigns to educate key stakeholders on policies that support the company’s historic culture of invention, including expanding the pool of diverse patent holders in the U.S., and reinforce the importance of strong patent rights as a critical driver of innovation. Thoene also serves on the Board of Trustees and as a mentor for Nativity Prep Academy, a middle school for low income, first-generation college-bound students. Prior to her work at Qualcomm, she was a partner in the San Diego office of the law firm Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith LLP. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law (’94) and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Central and East European Studies from the University of Colorado, Boulder (’91). 

Warren Tuttle has been active for decades as an advocate for inventor’s rights at the USPTO, throughout the Department of Commerce, and within the halls of Congress. Tuttle is among the elite leaders in corporate, academic, professional, and government organizations who is a member of the Council for Inclusive Innovation lead by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. CI2's mission is to help the United States Patent and Trademark Office develop a comprehensive national strategy to increase participation in our innovation ecosystem by encouraging, empowering, and supporting all future innovators. That includes increasing the involvement of women and other underrepresented groups. 

Professionally, Tuttle oversees open innovation product programs for Lifetime Brands the nation’s leader in the housewares and tabletop arenas (Farberware, Kitchen Aid and 40 other brands) and Merchant Media in the DRTV space (Smart Spin, True Touch). He is currently involved in the launch of MarketBlast (www.marketblast.com) a technologically advanced platform that connects innovators with established entities featuring marketplace presence and identifiable brands. 

Sean Wilkerson is an Innovation Outreach Specialist at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In this role he works closely with USPTO colleagues and leadership, federal agency partners, national organizations, and industry to design and implement programs and initiatives that bring innovation resources to independent inventors, small businesses, entrepreneurs, makers, underresourced communities, and universities. Wilkerson uses his experience from working across multiple areas of USPTO outreach to consistently contribute to a variety of initiatives across the agency, including helping create the Veterans Innovation, Hispanic Innovation, and Proud Innovation annual programming. He leads programming for the Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium and co-leads the development and management of the Empowering Women’s Entrepreneurship (WE) programming.  

Wilkerson joined the USPTO in October of 2008, initially serving in the Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA) as an education program specialist for international programing and outreach. From 2012-2014, Wilkerson served as program manager for the inaugural Select USA Summit, developing the structure and outreach efforts for this U.S. government-wide program housed in the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Wilkerson worked with the New York engagement team to manage and develop the 2015 Future of Urban Innovation Startups Summit in coordination with Columbia University and the USPTO. He later served in the Office of the Undersecretary as an acting Regional Outreach Officer for the Texas Regional Office to help coordinate the office’s opening and to develop stakeholder connections in the region. Prior to joining USPTO, Wilkerson 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.   

Anna Yuan is a dynamic entrepreneur, investor, and co-founder of ScaleGrowth AI, a pioneering multi-agent platform that creates hyper-personalized business solutions and transforms the landscape of AI-driven business optimization. Prior to founding ScaleGrowth, Yuan spearheaded product growth across various industries, including mobile, SaaS, consumer products, and open-source projects through Ysquared, her Product Marketing Agency. She has a track record of helping both startups and major corporations such as Apple and REA Group, significantly boosting product strategies, engagement, and revenue. Her innovative work has also led to being awarded two patents by the USPTO, further solidifying her reputation as a leader in technology development.