Kamei appointed as USPTO’s first Chief Public Engagement Officer

WASHINGTON-To further strengthen the agency's connection with stakeholders and champion the value of intellectual property (IP) protection in communities across the country, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced the appointment of Nancy U. Kamei as Chief Public Engagement Officer and Director of the Office of Public Engagement (OPE), effective immediately. Launched in the spring of 2024, the OPE advances the agency's mission of increasing participation in the innovation ecosystem by consolidating many of the agency's outreach, education, and customer experience leaders under a single office, enhancing the agency's commitment to reach more Americans with IP resources.

As Chief Public Engagement Officer, Kamei will carry out the strategic direction of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO by overseeing the strategy, promotion, and implementation of outreach, education, customer experience, and customer engagement activities across the USPTO. This coordinated effort allows the USPTO to impact a greater number of creators and reach newer audiences within local and underrepresented communities, thereby strengthening the innovation ecosystem through greater participation and problem-solving.

"With three decades of experience in all major aspects of the innovation ecosystem, Nancy will help the USPTO spur innovation and lift local communities across the nation, leading a team of dedicated colleagues committed to supporting all creators," said Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. "I'm thrilled to have a visionary and strategic leader at the helm of our new Office of Public Engagement so that USPTO can meet more Americans where they are with key resources to help them start and grow their businesses through IP protection."

"The United States innovation ecosystem is already the envy of the world and the USPTO's OPE will play a role in helping our country to sustain and bolster our position," Kamei said. "It is an honor to join the USPTO to inspire and educate the next generation of inventors, innovators, and entrepreneurs."

Prior to joining the USPTO, Kamei supported the growth and success of start-ups and small businesses through her work managing the national outreach program for the Small Business Administration's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs. Kamei served on the start-up teams of four biotechnology start-up companies and has more than 20 years of experience as an investor, having selected and managed portfolios of both public equity and venture capital investments. She served as a national instructor for the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Program, training National Institutes of Health (NIH) and NSF grantees on how to commercialize their technologies. Since 2017 she worked as a Program Director at the NSF and NIH where she worked in the SBIR and I-Corps Programs and served on the start-up team of the NSF Convergence Accelerator. After receiving her doctorate in pharmacy from the University of California, San Francisco, she started her career at Merck and then completed her master's degree in business administration at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. Nancy also has over 40 years of service in the non-profit sector, serving on the Board of Governors for the Japanese American National Museum and on the Board of Advisors for Stanford University's GAP Fund evaluating faculty inventions for early-stage funding.

In her announcement to the agency's 14,000 employees, Director Vidal recognized interim Chief Public Engagement Officer Scott Ewalt: "I cannot thank Scott enough for his tremendous efforts standing up OPE and getting things moving early on. Thanks to his work, OPE is on firm foundation."

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