Maria Anderson
Ms. Anderson is a Partner at Knobbe Martens, where she co-founded the firm’s Seattle office. With over 30 years of experience, she has cultivated a practice advising companies at the forefront of technology and innovation, while consistently seeking opportunities to break down barriers for underrepresented groups in the intellectual property space. Ms. Anderson develops patent and trademark portfolios for a diverse group of clients, from individual inventors to Fortune 5 companies. She has guided innovative clients from the earliest rounds of financing through initial public offering and beyond. Ms. Anderson’s practice spans a wide variety of industries, including consumer electronics, medical devices, food and beverage products, internet technologies, and artificial intelligence. Her term as a member began on December 1, 2024.
Earl "Eb" Bright
Mr. Bright currently serves as the President and General Counsel at ExploraMed Development, LLC, as well as the Founder and CAO at Revelle Aesthetics. He also serves as the Director of IP Policy at Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign. Mr. Bright is a patent attorney and has served on the executive management teams of many start-up companies in multiple capacities. He is a co-founder and serves on the Alliance for U.S. Startups and Inventors for Jobs advisory committee (a group of inventors, startup companies, venture capitalists, incubators, and research institutions). Mr. Bright has studied and published many articles on patent policy, collaborated with the USPTO to teach entrepreneurship to patent examiners, testified to the U.S. Senate, and assisted many judiciary committee attorneys with legislative language. He is an inventor on sixteen U.S. patents. His term as a member began on December 1, 2023.
Loletta (Lolita) Darden
Ms. Darden is the Visiting Associate Clinical Professor and Director of the IP and Technology Clinic at The George Washington University Law School, where she has been since August 2022. Previously, Ms. Darden was an Associate Clinical Professor (with tenure) and Director of the IP Clinic at Suffolk University Law School for six years. Before joining Suffolk University, Ms. Darden worked for Sachnoff & Weaver, where she was a Partner and Patent Prosecution Department Chairperson. Prior to joining Sachnoff & Weaver, Ms. Darden was Chief IP Counsel for a small consumer products company, where she managed the company's IP prosecution and litigation portfolios and pioneered a strategy for strategically using and creating IP assets to enhance the company's competitive strength. As a law professor, Ms. Darden has taught IP survey, trademark law and practice, and patent law and practice. Ms. Darden is also a C-IP² Scholar at the George Mason University Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy, where her scholarship focuses on the protection and preservation of IP rights for creators and inventors. She is also a member of the Giles S. Rich American Inn of Court. Her term as a member began on December 1, 2022.
Henry Hadad (Vice Chair)
Mr. Hadad is Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Innovation Law, at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he is Chief Intellectual Property (IP) Counsel, leading a team supporting the company’s efforts to discover, develop and deliver groundbreaking treatments for patients with serious unmet medical need. He was previously Chief IP Counsel at Schering-Plough Corporation and held roles at Johnson & Johnson and in private practice. During his legal career, Mr. Hadad has represented the innovative biopharmaceutical, generic, medical device and consumer goods industries, with a focus on IP procurement, litigation, transactions and policy in the United States and internationally, and is an active member of numerous IP educational, policy and advocacy organizations. Mr. Hadad is a passionate advocate for a strong and predictable IP system that drives innovation across all technologies, and in developing a diverse and inclusive pipeline of future leaders in the IP profession and the innovation ecosystem. He is a board member of the Intellectual Property Owners (IPO) Association, served as its President (2018-2019), and is currently chair of its Amicus Committee. Mr. Hadad holds a B.S. in Biology from Haverford College and a J.D., cum laude, from the American University, Washington College of Law. His term as a member began on December 1, 2022.
Idris McKelvey
Mr. McKelvey serves as Vice President and Lead (Chief) Patent Counsel at The Estée Lauder Companies, where he oversees the global patent strategy supporting the company’s 30+ brands. Since joining in 2010, Mr. McKelvey has been a champion for innovation across the enterprise while diligently driving continuous operational improvement on his team. This includes implementing new technologies, simplifying processes, and automating workflows. He is deeply engaged in efforts to harness and leverage generative artificial intelligence for an even greater impact on overall effectiveness. His leadership focuses on developing innovative legal solutions that bridge technology, research and development, and business strategy. In leading his team of multinational patent attorneys and experts, Mr. McKelvey has developed an informed perspective on the complexities of the international patent system, including the critical need for policies that ensure proper protection for innovative achievement and fair competition in global trade. Before Estée Lauder, Mr. McKelvey held patent counsel roles at Procter & Gamble, managing portfolios for globally recognized brands. Mr. McKelvey is a frequent speaker on topics relating to patents, business strategy, and technology. He is also a graduate of Howard University, with degrees in chemistry (cum laude) and law. His term as a member began on December 1, 2024.
Lateef Mtima
Mr. Mtima is a professor of law at the Howard University School of Law, and the founder and director of the Institute for IP and Social Justice, an accredited NGO member of WIPO, that advocates for core principles of socially equitable access, inclusion, and empowerment in the development and implementation of the IP ecosystem. Professor Mtima has testified before Congress in support of IP social justice legislation, including the Unleashing American Innovators Act, which President Biden signed into law on December 29, 2022. He has served as a member of the Advisory Council for the U.S. Court of Federal Claims; President of the Giles S. Rich Inn of Court for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; a member of the BNA Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal Advisory Board, the founding editorial board for the ABA IP periodical, Landslide; a Thomas Edison Innovation Law and Policy Fellow, Center for IP x Innovation Policy, Antonin Scalia School of Law, and a Distinguished Libra Visiting Scholar in Residence at the University of Maine School of Law. His term as a member began on December 1, 2023.
Marvin J. Slepian
Dr. Slepian, M.D., J.D. is Regents’ Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering (Associate Department Head), at The University of Arizona. He is the founder and director of the Arizona Center for Accelerated Biomedical Innovation (ACABI), a university-wide “creativity engine” driving innovation and novel solution development for unmet medical needs. Dr. Slepian has had an extensive research career leading to the development of innovative diagnostics and therapeutics for cardiovascular diseases including drug-eluting stent technologies and the only FDA approved total artificial heart. He is an elected fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES); a member of BEMA – the Biomaterials Engineering Materials and Applications (BEMA) Roundtable, of the National Research Council of the National Academies; and recently completed his J.D. at University of Arizona Law. He is a named inventor on more than 60 patents covering a broad range of technologies. His term as a member began on December 1, 2023.
Olivia Tsai (Chair)
Ms. Tsai is Assistant General Counsel and Head of IP at Cruise, a leading autonomous vehicle company. At Cruise, she leads the team responsible for IP protection and strategy. She founded Cruise’s Asian and Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group. Prior to Cruise, Ms. Tsai counseled in cutting edge technology areas at Cisco, Sandia National Laboratories, and in private practice. She has a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a JD from Case Western Reserve University. Ms. Tsai serves as Co-Founder and Corporate Secretary of Allied Transportation Association to bring together collaborative IP opportunities in the transportation industry. Ms. Tsai also serves as Founding Member of Advancing Diversity Across Patent Teams (“ADAPT”) to promote the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion among patent professionals. Her term as a member began on December 1, 2022.
Jennifer Yokoyama
Ms. Yokoyama is Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Legal Innovation and Strategy at Cisco Systems, Inc., where she builds and leads international legal teams supporting product development, artificial intelligence and open source compliance, intellectual property, supply chain procurement, licensing negotiations, and litigation. Ms. Yokoyama partners across multiple disciplines, leveraging legal acuity, business aptitude, and management experience with broad expertise in all aspects of intellectual property, including prosecution, litigation, licensing, and due diligence. She is a mentor and manager for team members across the legal spectrum. Her term as a member began on December 1, 2024.
Union Representatives
- Kathleen Duda
- Catherine Faint
- Vernon Ako Towler