Category: Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium

Sean Wilkerson works in the Office of the Chief Communications Officer at the USPTO, developing and delivering intellectual property awareness programs for independent inventors, small businesses, entrepreneurs, makers, and universities.

Mr. Wilkerson previously worked as an outreach coordinator for the programs leading up to the opening of the USPTO’s Texas Regional Office. 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 for the inaugural Select USA Summit, developing the program, structure, and outreach efforts of a U.S. governmentwide program housed in the International Trade Administration of the United States Department of Commerce.

As an education program analyst in the Global Intellectual Property Academy from 2008 – 2011, Mr. Wilkerson managed international programs focused on providing intellectual property 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.

Tiffany N. Spearman is Head of Strategic Partnerships and Outreach at Black Girl Ventures, an organization that creates access to social and financial capital for Black and Brown woman-identifying founders. She is the Founder of At Liberty, LLC, a firm providing individualized business support and event planning services. In her spare time, Ms. Spearman enjoys writing, learning new skills, and friends. She is the creator of Holistic Business Practices and a graduate of the Boston Conservatory.

James M. Silbermann is the USPTO’s Senior Counsel for Enrollment and Intellectual Property Legal Services in the Office of Enrollment and Discipline. He leads a team of attorneys that is responsible for all aspects of enrollment to practice before the USPTO, including development of the registration examination to measure an applicant’s knowledge of patent law and practice. He oversees and manages the USPTO Patent Pro Bono and Law School Clinic Certification Programs, and he is also responsible for Office of Enrollment and Discipline rulemaking and other non-disciplinary matters.

Prior to becoming Senior Counsel, Mr. Silbermann was a staff attorney in the Office of Enrollment and Discipline handling enrollment and discipline matters and also supervising the Law School Clinical Certification Program. Before joining the USPTO in 2005, Mr. Silbermann worked at the law firm of Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP in Washington, D.C. and the Washington, D.C. office of Foley & Lardner LLP, where he specialized in intellectual property acquisitions, patent litigation and prosecution, and client consultation.

Mr. Silbermann received his Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, and his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, where he was an editor of the Journal of Contemporary Health Law and Policy

Nina Roque serves as the National Women’s Business Council’s (NWBC) Executive Director and Designated Federal Officer. In her role, she is the official liaison between the Council and the Small Business Administration (SBA). She also provides strategic advice and counsel to the council members regarding policy priorities, and initiatives in support of women entrepreneurs. She leads NWBC’s professional staff to effectively execute and deliver the council’s advice and policy recommendations to the president, Congress, and the SBA.

Previously, Ms. Roque served as Special Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Labor, where she served as the department’s liaison to public stakeholders on the administration’s priorities including women in the workforce, apprenticeships, and the opioid crisis. Prior to that role, Ms. Roque led the Washington, D.C. office of the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that focuses on youth development and leadership, public service, and corporate responsibility. During that time, she spearheaded the organization’s external engagement and public policy portfolio.

Before making the move to Washington, D.C., Ms. Roque was an associate attorney at a law firm in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she counseled and defended businesses of all sizes, including at the appellate level. She also served as a law clerk to the Chair of the North Carolina Industrial Commission, a quasijudicial agency in the State of North Carolina that administers the Workers’ Compensation Act and Tort Claims Act for the state. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political

science and criminology from Florida State University, and a Juris Doctor from Hofstra University School of Law.

Throughout her career in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, Ms. Roque has dedicated herself to the advancement of the American workforce. She is a secondgeneration Cuban American who is passionate about mentoring youth leaders, empowering the American worker to succeed, and fostering a free and prosperous economy that advances women entrepreneurs.

As a global serial entrepreneur, Tiffany Norwood has done seven start-ups and two IPOs in a career that spans 30 years and more than 50 countries. She did her first start-up as a teenager and had a patent by the age of 23. Her ventures have ranged from the first onestrap backpack, to the automation technology behind self-install kits for broadband internet, to a healthcare clinic in Ethiopia that has treated thousands of patients.

Ms. Norwood is considered one of the pioneers of digital broadcasting and is the only

successful Black female tech entrepreneur of her generation, with a career that started in the 1980s and continues today. In her late twenties, she raised $670 million to fund WorldSpace, the first global digital satellite radio start-up. WorldSpace launched three satellites covering the globe, bringing digital content to every country on earth. The North American satellite became XM Radio, and both WorldSpace and XM Radio eventually went public. Over 20 years ago, Ms. Norwood also did some of the first ever global digital content licensing deals, starting with Michael Bloomberg (Bloomberg News) and then Phil Kent (CNN International).

Ms. Norwood was an early collaborator with the Fraunhofer Institute on their MPEG technologies. In the 1990s, she spent many nights at their original lab in Erlangen, Germany. MPEG Layer-3 and MPEG Layer-4 are now known as MP3 and MP4 and are global standards in compression technology.

Currently, she serves as the Founder and CEO of Tribetan, an ed-tech company that teaches the skillsets of entrepreneurs and innovators, including persuasive storytelling, collaboration, endurance, and cultivated optimism, which are as critical for future success as literacy was generations ago. The Tribetan Method, also known as the science of turning imagination into reality, is a seven-step process for making ideas and goals real.

Ms. Norwood is a highly respected and soughtafter global speaker on entrepreneurship, innovation, and imagination. She has spoken around the world at venues including the USPTO, the Newseum, the European Parliament, Cornell University, the Italian Parliament, Platform Summit, University of South Carolina, Global Entrepreneurship Week, Dev4Ethic, Howard University, KPMG UK, Center for American Studies, the Creative Business Cup, the Mexican Embassy, NYU, and many others. Her most iconic performances are “The Power of We,” “The ROI of Faith,‘’ and “Hermione Rising.”

Ms. Norwood has an MBA from Harvard and a bachelor’s degree in economics with a concentration in statistics and electrical engineering from Cornell University. Her ultimate dream is that the entrepreneur and innovator skillset of turning ideas into reality becomes as well-known as reading, writing, and math.

Dr. Narcrisha Norman is a Program Director in the Division of Graduate Education at the National Science Foundation. She is proud to be a 2018 – 2019 Fulbright Scholar who actively volunteers as a NASA Solar System Ambassador. Dr. Norman contributes as the Founder and Chief Research Advisor of STEMTime Research and Outreach Collaboration and as the Founder and Donor Liaison for WithPromise.org.

Dr. Norman is a U.S. Army veteran who has enjoyed contributing to and learning from a variety of organizations, including ABET, Howard University, Clemson University, ECPI College of Technology, and the USPTO.

Dr. Norman is currently on sabbatical from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide, where she is Assistant Professor and Research Coordinator in the Dean’s office of the College of Aeronautics. In this role, she is active in helping faculty establish successful research portfolios. She holds a Doctor of Science in aerospace engineering from Old Dominion University and both Master and Bachelor of Science degrees in mechanical engineering from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She enjoys learning and has earned certificates in online education, information technology, and entrepreneurship.

Jessica Landacre is the Executive Director of the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), a worldwide trade association representing companies and individuals in all industries who own or are interested in intellectual property rights. Ms. Landacre brings a unique perspective to the position as the first woman and MBA graduate to serve as Executive Director in the association’s 48-year history. With more than two decades of experience at IPO, she has demonstrated leadership and expertise in association management, resulting in expansive membership growth and the establishment of an affiliated 501(c)3 education foundation promoting the value of intellectual property rights. She shares a vision with the board of directors for expanding IPO’s role in creating meaningful change for improving diversity in the profession.

Erin Kelley is the Co-Director for STEM to Market, an initiative of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS). She has degrees in international relations (Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College and Master of Arts from Johns Hopkins University), as well as an MBA in general management and corporate innovation from the University of Virginia. With her unique interdisciplinary background, Ms. Kelley has research, policy, and programmatic expertise in innovation and commercialization, organizational and systemic change, entrepreneurship ecosystems, international development design thinking and product/process development, and instructional design. Through her work at IBM, T. Rowe Price, the National Women’s Business Council, and AWIS, Ms. Kelley has improved the business climate and outcomes for women entrepreneurs and leaders.

Lisa Jorgensen is the Executive Director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, a national bar association of over 12,000 members and one of the world’s leading policy and advocacy organizations in the field of intellectual property.

Ms. Jorgensen has over 30 years of experience in intellectual property. She is an emeritus member of the Association of Corporate Patent Counsel, having previously served as the Secretary of the organization, and she served as Treasurer of the Intellectual Property Owners Association. Ms. Jorgensen is also a former member of the AIPLA board of directors and a current AIPLA Fellow.

Ms. Jorgensen received her Bachelor of Science in biology from Saint Mary’s College in Indiana in 1978, her Master of Science in industrial management from Purdue University in 1983, and her Juris Doctor with distinction in 1987 from the John Marshall Law School.

Erika Jefferson is the President and Founder of Black Women in Science and Engineering (BWISE), an organization focused on bridging the leadership gap for Black women in STEM. She received her MBA from Georgia Tech and her Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from LSU. She has worked for top companies such as Amoco, BP, Chevron, and Praxair in a myriad of leadership and executive roles ranging from sales and business development to supply chain and operations excellence. Her more than two decades of experience led her across the nation from Chicago, to Greenville, Charlotte, Atlanta, and eventually Houston.