Joyce Ward is the Director of the Office of Education (OE) for the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Her work expands the influence of the outreach offerings of the USPTO to provide K12 educators and students with unique learning experiences and resources designed to integrate knowledge of invention, innovation, entrepreneurship, and STEM. Her office encourages the creation and protection of intellectual property.
Under Joyce’s direct leadership the OE successfully conceived, and implemented numerous projects which have garnered national recognition for the agency, such as the Science of Innovation series, a collaboration between the USPTO, the National Science Foundation, and NBC Learn; the exemplar National Summer Teacher Institute on Innovation, STEM, and Intellectual Property(NSTI); an Intellectual Property patch with the Girl Scouts organization, and the first USPTO Inventor Trading Card series.
Prior to her current position Joyce was the Director of Program Support and Intellectual Property for the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF). Before going to NIHF, she served as a Trademark Examining Attorney and later as an Education Specialist in the Office of Public Affairs at the USPTO. Joyce received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC.
Juan Valentin is an Education Program Advisor in the Office of Education (OE) at the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Juan is responsible for the development and implementation of educational projects of national and international scope, with a particular emphasis on directing and coordinating the development of STEM, design-thinking, or invention-focused projects infused with intellectual property (IP) concepts. Cultivating relationships and finding areas for collaboration with external organizations, academic institutions and federal agencies also is a significant part of Mr. Valentin’s job.
Prior to joining the OE team, Mr. Valentin was a USPTO patent examiner for 12 years, specializing in the art of optical measuring and testing devices. Community outreach is an important part of Mr. Valentin’s life, his volunteer work with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers includes youth education and outreach on behalf of engineers and leadership training for members of all levels within the organization. Mr. Valentin holds a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Clarkson University.
