Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium, part one: Educate and innovate

Joann Blumenfeld has B.A. and M.S. degrees in science and engineering. She taught STEM classes for 20 years for Wake County Public Schools, where she was a science and special education teacher in elementary, middle, and high school, and worked with mostly low-income Black and Indigenous students with disabilities. Blumenfeld is also the Founder and Program Director of Catalyst: Creating Opportunities in STEM for Students with Disabilities, which she started five years ago. Located at The Science House at North Carolina State University, Catalyst is a free high school program designed to create STEM opportunities for students with disabilities. Students learn STEM content and skills through hands-on labs and research, participate in STEM field trips, have mentoring and paid STEM internship opportunities, improve their workforce readiness and soft skills, and explore STEM educational pathways and careers. Catalyst also provides students with job exploration counseling, workplace readiness training, work-based learning experiences, counseling on postsecondary options, and development in self-advocacy. The program serves students from 35 high schools in North Carolina and has won three national awards in just five years. In 2017, Catalyst participants won the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam competition for their invention: a low-cost mat that screens for lameness in cows with an app that notifies farmers. They presented at MIT, were invited to the USPTO, and received a Letter of Commendation from President Obama in 2018. Catalyst was a 2021 recipient of the Program of Excellence Award from the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association and the National Energy Education Development Project Special Project Award. Most importantly, all graduating Catalyst seniors have pursued STEM educational pathways in college. Received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant for Connecting.

Blumenfeld is also the Program Director of GIST: Connecting Students with Autism to Geographic Information Systems and Technology, which serves high school students with autism. It offers an introduction to drone piloting, virtual reality computer simulation training, mentoring, and job application support for participants. This research program is funded by the National Science Foundation and began in January 2022.

Blumenfeld is the recipient of over 10 teaching awards, including The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation Teacher Innovator Award; the North Carolina Excellence in Teaching Award, Council for Exceptional Children; the North Carolina Educator of Excellence Award, Wake County Public Schools and Department of Public Instruction; and the Special Education and Distinguished Teaching Award, Bridging the Gap. She has presented at over 20 international, national, and state conferences, including the National Science Teacher Conference and the SciAccess Conference. She has received many fellowships, holding the titles of Kenan Fellow, North Carolina Science Leadership Fellow, National Endowment for Humanities Scholar, World View Global Music Fellow, NASA Education Ambassador, National Science Teacher Association Beginning Teacher, and Dow Fellow. Blumenfeld has served on educational advisory councils and is also active in many STEM organizations. She is passionate about STEM; helping all learners be successful; and building a more diverse, inclusive, and innovative STEM workforce.

Quincy Brown was previously the Head of Programs at AnitaB.org, a global organization dedicated to the development of women technologists. Brown is the co-founder of blackcomputeHER.org, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting the advancement of Black women and girls in computing and technology in education and the workforce. She was previously the Program Director for STEM Education Research at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), where she focused on pre-service STEM teacher education, innovation, and entrepreneurship. She also served in the Obama Administration as a Senior Policy Advisor and an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation focused on computer science and STEM education.

For six years, she was an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Bowie State University. There, she conducted human computer interaction research and examined the design of intelligent tutoring systems, the design and usability of mobile devices, and the use of mobile devices by first responders in emergency situations. She completed her Ph.D. through her work at the Vision and Cognition Lab of the Computer Science Department at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Brown began her career in industry as a test and software quality engineer at Nokia, NEC, and Raytheon.

Cara Duckworth is the Acting Chief Communications Officer of the USPTO. She is responsible for the development and implementation of strategic communications for the USPTO in coordination with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the White House. She also supports and advises the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO.

Duckworth’s permanent role is Chief Corporate Communications Officer, where she directs a team of communications, education, and outreach professionals focused on promoting the agency’s goals and objectives. She also oversees the USPTO’s partnership with the National Inventors Hall of Fame and management of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. 
        
Prior to joining the USPTO, Duckworth served as Vice President of Communications at the Association of American Publishers, where she helped manage the day-to-day operations of the communications department for the trade organization representing the $25 billion U.S. book publishing industry. Previously, Duckworth served as the Senior Vice President of Communications at the Recording Industry Association of America and as Director of Communications at the Motion Picture Association.

An experienced communications veteran of the creative industries and a modern-day storyteller, Duckworth’s broad skillset includes media relations, public speaking, social media expertise, stand-up comedy, and theater acting. She has been at the forefront of many innovative and groundbreaking campaigns that have helped define the transitions of the music and movie industries to the digital age.

Dr. Amy Elliott holds multiple patents and is a 3D printing researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She is also an advocate for girls interested in STEM careers. Because of her love of being hands-on in the shop and building machines, Elliott placed second in an engineering reality competition hosted by the Discovery Channel called “The Big Brain Theory.” Following this experience, she was invited to co-host on six seasons of the Science Channel’s “Outrageous Acts of Science,” among other media productions. Elliott is passionate about “sharing the wealth” of STEM and trade careers, both literally and figuratively, as she believes these careers are not only lucrative but can also be fulfilling opportunities for women. Elliott was selected as an American Association for the Advancement of Science IF/THEN Ambassador, which designates her as a STEM role model. In her spare time, Elliott likes to tinker with her 3D printers and spend time with her family, usually building something in the garage.

Leigh Estabrooks, product developer and teacher, joined the Lemelson-MIT Program in 2006 to manage a national grants initiative for inventors in high school. She has been the Invention Education Officer since 2008, overseeing invention education initiatives for K-14 students. Estabrooks has been instrumental in providing professional development for educators, as well as developing new initiatives for students, including Junior Varsity InvenTeams, the Inventing Merit Badge in partnership with the Scouts BSA, Biotech in Action, and Invention and Inclusive Innovation. Additionally, she researches the impact of invention on students, teachers, and communities. Estabrooks has a Bachelor of Science in agriculture, a master’s degree in business, and a professional doctorate degree in education. When asked what she has invented, she answers, “Inventors!”

Drew Hirshfeld is performing the functions and duties of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Drew Hirshfeld is performing the functions and duties of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. Hirshfeld’s permanent role is Commissioner for Patents, where he manages and leads the Patents organization as its chief operating officer. He is responsible for managing and directing all aspects of the organization that affect administration of patent operations, examination policy, patent quality management, international patent cooperation, resources and planning, and budget administration.

During his time as Commissioner, Hirshfeld has led the Patents business unit by emphasizing both transparency and collaboration. He has managed efforts to ensure the consistency and reliability of patent grants. Hirshfeld has further played a lead role in ensuring that the examining corps is provided with updated examination guidance and training.

Prior to serving as Commissioner for Patents, Hirshfeld held the positions of Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy and Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. Hirshfeld began his career in 1994 as a patent examiner and became a supervisory patent examiner in 2001. He was promoted to the Senior Executive Service in 2008 as a Group Director in Technology Center 2100. Hirshfeld received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Vermont and a J.D. from Western New England College School of Law.

Joyce Ward is the Director of the USPTO’s Office of Education (OE). Her work provides K-12 educators and students with unique learning experiences and resources that integrate knowledge of invention, innovation, entrepreneurship, and STEM. Her office also encourages the creation and protection of intellectual property.

Under Ward’s direct leadership, the OE successfully conceived and implemented numerous projects that have garnered national recognition for the USPTO, including the Science of Innovation series, a collaboration between the USPTO, the National Science Foundation, and NBC Learn; the exemplar National Summer Teacher Institute on Innovation, STEM, and Intellectual Property; an intellectual property patch with the Girl Scouts organization; and the first USPTO Inventor Trading Card series.

Prior to her current position, Ward was the Director of Program Support and Intellectual Property for the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF). Before going to NIHF, she served as a trademark examining attorney and later as an education specialist in the Office of Public Affairs at the USPTO. Ward received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.

Sean Wilkerson works in the Office of Innovation Outreach at the USPTO, creating intellectual property 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 at 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 intellectual property training related to the 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. Wilkerson was awarded the USPTO’s Bronze Medal award for superior performance in 2021.