Moderator
Heidi Riviere Kelley
Technology Center Operations Manager, USPTO
Heidi Riviere Kelley is currently a Technology Center Operations Manager for the USPTO’s Technical Center 1700 (Chemical and Materials Engineering). Previously, Kelley served as a Supervisory Patent Examiner, where she managed a staff of examiners in the areas of liquid purification and gas separation.
Kelley received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the College of William and Mary and a Juris Doctor degree at the American University Washington College of Law.
Guests
Jennifer Harchick Staff Attorney
Office of Enrollment and Discipline, USPTO
Jennifer A. Harchick joined the USPTO in January 2012 as a Staff Attorney in the Office of Enrollment and Discipline. As a Staff Attorney, Harchick investigates grievances alleging misconduct by practitioners, evaluates applications and conducts moral character investigations of applicants requesting registration before the USPTO, oversees the Law School Clinic Certification Program, and assists with outreach to USPTO stakeholders.
Prior to joining the USPTO, Harchick engaged in the private practice of intellectual property law with boutique intellectual property firms, including in the Alexandria, Virginia and Columbus, Ohio areas. Her private practice focused primarily on patent, trademark, and copyright litigation; patent and trademark prosecution; patent and trademark counseling; rendering opinions on patentability, infringement, patent validity, and trademark registerability issues; and licensing of intellectual property.
Harchick received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in biology with a minor in chemistry and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She is admitted to practice in patent cases before the USPTO and to practice before the Supreme Courts of Virginia and Ohio, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Benjamin Nils Hardman
Senior International Trade Specialist – Detail, Office of Standards and Intellectual Property, Industry & Analysis, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce
Benjamin Nils Hardman is a USPTO attorney and a U.S. Army veteran. He earned his law degree from Rutgers School of Law – Camden with honors, is a trained mediator for New Jersey, and entered federal service as a Presidential Management Fellow. He has earned several civilian and military awards and was nominated for a Service to America Medal.
Hardman’s current position is with the International Trade Administration’s Office of Standards and Intellectual Property, where he runs the STOPfakes program. Prior experience includes positions with the State Department in the Office of Cuban Affairs, the Office of the United States Trade Representative in the WTO and Multilateral Affairs Office, the Joint Staff in the Strategic Planning Division, and as an infantry soldier stationed in Baumholder, Germany.
Jason Lott
Attorney Advisor for Trademarks Customer Outreach, Trademarks, USPTO
Jason Lott is the Attorney Advisor for Trademarks Customer Outreach at the USPTO, where he specializes in helping small business owners understand trademarks and the federal trademark registration process through live presentations, creative videos, and other multimedia platforms. He has been with the USPTO since 2000, previously serving as an Examining Attorney, and is a recipient of the Bronze Medal Award, the Exceptional Career Award, multiple Customer Service Awards, and the the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Outstanding Trademark Examining Attorney Award.
Lott earned his Juris Doctor degree in 2000 from the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University and his Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in 1997 from Kenyon College. He is admitted to the bars of Ohio and the District of Columbia.
Jennifer Shieh
Chief Scientist and Program Manager, Office of Innovation and Technology, Office of Investment and Innovation, U.S. Small Business Administration
Dr. Jennifer Shieh advances technology commercialization through the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs, building partnerships and coordinating policy across the 11 participating federal agencies.
Shieh served as the Assistant Director for Entrepreneurship at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), where she led national efforts to improve the transfer of federally funded technologies from lab to market, advance federal agency coordination on R&D infrastructure, and champion open innovation through prizes and citizen science. Previously, she managed the Small Business Program for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and served as a Program Director at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) SBIR Development Center, having joined NCI as an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow.
Shieh was involved in product and customer development at Syapse, a precision medicine-focused startup, and at mobile games startup Subversus Interactive. She studied brain and cognitive sciences at MIT, then earned her Ph.D in neurosciences at Stanford University. She is co-author of the textbook Guide to Research Techniques in Neuroscience.
The WES will offer engaging, expert panels on Wednesdays throughout Women’s History Month. Check the WES program page for updates.
The WES is presented by the USPTO’s Office of Innovation Outreach. For questions or assistance, please contact WES@USPTO.GOV.