stacey
5 September 2022Influential Women in IPSarah Speight

USPTO hires DEIA advisor to promote diversity

Appointment forms part of the agency’s bid to to be a “place of and for opportunity” | New advisor previously worked at Arnold & Porter, Cooley, and Weil Gotshal.

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has hired Caren Ulrich Stacy as the agency’s lead DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility) advisor.

The appointment was announced on Friday, September 2, by under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and USPTO director Kathi Vidal.

The move forms part of the USPTO’s “ongoing and focused efforts to be a place of and for opportunity, and to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) throughout every corner of the agency”.

Ulrich Stacy brings 30 years’ experience in management and leadership as the head of talent and diversity for many of the world’s top law firms, including Arnold & Porter, Cooley, and Weil Gotshal.

Most recently she founded Diversity Lab, an “incubator for innovative, science-driven solutions that increase inclusivity and equal access to opportunities in law and beyond”.

As Diversity Lab’s CEO, Ulrich Stacy works with talent experts and data scientists to create and experiment with innovative initiatives that cultivate diversity in the leadership ranks of top law firms, legal departments, government agencies, and other organisations.

Ulrich Stacy will continue her practice at Diversity Lab while advising the USPTO.

“Caren is an innovator in the field of workforce opportunity and accessibility,” said Vidal. “Her work has led to transformational change within the legal profession.

“I look forward to working alongside Caren and our excellent USPTO team to shape practices and programmes that support and sustain inclusive hiring, development, and advancement systems for this great agency and all those we serve.”

The USPTO said Vidal has prioritised inclusivity and equal access to opportunities for all within the USPTO workforce and those who seek to work at America’s Innovation Agency (AIA).

Ulrich Stacy’s appointment follows the recruitment of key members of the leadership team, including Derrick Brent as deputy under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and deputy director of the USPTO; Shirin Bidel-Niyat as chief of staff from her former position of senior advisor; Russell Lopez as its chief communications officer (CCO); and Dede Zecher as chief advisor to the director.

Ulrich Stacy joins the USPTO leadership team and will take a data-driven and behavioural science-based approach to help shape the future of the USPTO.

Bismarck Myrick, the USPTO’s director of the office of equal employment opportunity and diversity, said: “I look forward to working with Caren as we establish our new and first-ever DEIA Council and build out our DEIA team.

“I’m confident that working alongside Caren, our USPTO leadership team, and voluntary employee organisations will move our minority-majority agency to new heights.”

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