MENTORING COMMITTEE

Led by Steve Kontos (Harrity) & Maeve Carpenter (IBM)

Duties – Recruit mentors; Provide ongoing guidance for mentors; Prepare surveys for mentors & mentees; Develop training for mentors; Keep the mentors engaged; Plan & execute virtual orientation & virtual networking events for mentors and mentees (e.g., 1-2 mentors and 4 – 8 mentees in a virtual coffee setting)

Time Commitment – 1-2 hours weekly

Requirements – Open to both Patent Agents and Attorneys

FINANCE COMMITTEE

Led by Tara Agnew Harris (Treasurer)

Duties – Track all incoming funds and outgoing expenses

Time Commitment – 2-3 hours monthly

EMPLOYMENT & INCLUSION COMMITTEE

Led by Elaine Spector (Harrity), Shruti Costales (Dell) & Richard Watkins (Medtronic)

Duties – Engage law firms to hire participants, match law firms with participants, and engage corporations to become partners or offer summer internship positions

Time Commitment – 1-2 hours weekly

Requirements – Able to work on the committee remotely

MARKETING & BRANDING COMMITTEE

Led by Samantha Sullivan, Alyssa Montalvo & Hazel Jimenez (Orange Grove Creative Co.)

Duties – Create graphics, videos, flyers, and other content that reflect the Patent Pathways® brand and encourage participants, partners, sponsors, and volunteers to partake in the program; Post content across a variety of social media channels, groups, and pages; Design and distribute email content, including quarterly newsletters; Gather contacts across academia, professional organizations, etc. and conduct outreach using branded content

Time Commitment –  Flexible, with a 30 minute biweekly meeting and ongoing projects to hop on. Ideally looking for someone who can commit 1-2 hours biweekly.

Requirements – Experience in digital marketing, including the use of graphic design tools is preferred but not required; good writing skills; social media aptitude; ideas for brand awareness and expansion

PARTICIPANT COMMITTEE

Led by Ryan Thelen (Harrity) & Phong Dinh (Microsoft)

RECRUITING SUBCOMMITTEE
Led by Lyssa-Michelle Morris (Holland & Hart), Edward Kim (Harrity), & Sora Ko (Mayer Brown LLP)

Duties – Brainstorm creative ideas to recruit participants; Research and solicit professional organizations, universities, etc. to partner with for recruiting participants; Conduct virtual (and occasionally in-person) information sessions with potential applicants; Engage universities, professional organizations, etc.

Time Commitment – 1-2 hours weekly during the peak recruiting months (possibly more if travel is required for in-person information sessions)

Requirements – Involves some travel to professional organization conferences.

PATENT BAR EXAM PREPARATION SUBCOMMITTEE
Led by Nathan Gundlach (Harrity) & Nelson Nolte (Harrity)

Duties – Prepare and present on MPEP-based exams: review questions, how to find them in MPEP

Time Commitment – 2-3 hours on presentation week (rotates) during bootcamp time period, reduced otherwise

Requirements – Available to meet with participants via videoconference; MPEP Knowledge

INTERVIEWING, ADMISSIONS & ONBOARDING SUBCOMMITTEE
Led by Natalie Parcell (Harrity), Carrie Sadowski (Pillsbury Law), & Josh Hauser (Harrity)

Duties – Review incoming resumes; Prescreen applicants; Prepare and send emails to applicants; Coordinate meeting times for participants and interviewers; Schedule calls; Provide appropriate documents to interviewers

Time Commitment – 1-2 hours weekly during the peak admissions months

Requirements – Available to meet with participants via videoconference

PROGRAM SESSIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
Led by Audrey Ogurchak (Lowenstein Sandler)  & Rosa Walker (Pillsbury Law)

Duties – Moderate at least one weekly session; Recruit instructors and presenters for program sessions; Prepare/edit & distribute slides for sessions; Email communication with participants; Create & share video meeting invitations (e.g., Zoom) 

Time Commitment – 1-2 hours weekly 

Requirements – Topics cover career readiness, interview preparation, patent preparation & prosecution training, goal setting, time management, mental wellbeing 

JOIN A COMMITTEE

Fill out the below form to join any of our committees today!

WATCH OUR INFORMATIONAL WEBINAR TO LEARN MORE!

Help us expand Patent Pathways®
and make a lasting impact on
inclusion in patent law!

GET INVOLVED

We’re looking for patent professionals who are passionate about building a more inclusive environment in the patent field to join our subcommittees for the upcoming Patent Pathways® program!

Interested in making a difference? Click below to send us a message and let us know which you’re interested in!

LEARN MORE

Learn more about each committee, including our in-house counsel partners and committee leaders, in our latest webinar!

Thank you to all of our program partners and sponsors! To view our full partner and sponsor list, click here.