Women's Entrepreneurship: Navigating the small business innovation research journey

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.

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 nonprofit 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.

Pallabi has an extensive track record of building and operating successful companies. As a founder and in her past roles as CEO and Chair of the board she guided Harmonia through dramatic growth. She continues to serve the company as a Strategic Advisor with a keen focus on the company’s M&A strategy. 

Pallabi serves on several boards including the Fairfax Economic Development Authority Board, George Mason University Board of Trustees, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) DC Board, Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce Strategic Leadership Board of Advisors, and Northern Virginia Technology Council’s executive circle. She has been widely honored for her business acumen, success, and commitment to community with numerous awards including being named among the region’s top 25 female CEOs, a top 100 Smart CEO, Technical Trailblazer Federal Contractor, most influential Federal 100 leaders, Asian Business Leader of the year, Top 10 Women Who Mean Business, and Virginia Businesswomen in Leadership.