Virtual Water Cooler Chat

A Chat with Jessica Nguyen, Chief Legal Officer of Lexion | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 39

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features Jessica Nguyen, Chief Legal Officer of Lexion, the AI-powered legal intake and contract lifecycle management system – helping attorneys manage tasks and contracts in one place. 
Jessica plays an integral role in managing Lexion’s legal function and product and go-to-market strategy while also building a platform advocating for General Counsels, legal professionals, and women with over 15,000 LinkedIn followers, regularly speaking at events and webinars with hundreds or thousands of registrants. She has an extensive in-house legal career at companies of various sizes and stages and has been the first legal hire that built out the legal function of a company 3 times. 
Prior to Lexion, she was the General Counsel and first in-house attorney of PayScale, a Microsoft Office365 attorney, and the first in-house attorney at Avalara. Jessica is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law and is an award-winning General Counsel, with  honors including the 2023 Washington State Bar Association Legal Innovation Award, 2020 “Startup GC of the Year” by Corporate Counsel magazine, 2019 Top 100 Legal Influencers by The Business Journals, 2019 Best Under 40 by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and 2018 Puget Sound Business Journal 40 Under 40. 
Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn. 
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.   
Learn more about VPG here. 

A Chat with Micheal Binns, Head of Patent Portfolio Strategy, Patents & Trade Secrets at Meta | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 38

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features Micheal Binns, Head of Patent Portfolio Strategy for Meta’s Patents & Trade Secrets.  
Micheal chairs Meta’s Black@Legal affinity group, which focuses on ensuring an equitable experience for diverse employees in the legal department. He is also a founder and board member of ADAPT, a DEI collective, the board chair of Page Turners Make Great Learners in Atlanta, a board member of the National Council on Patent Practicum, and a trustee of the Foundation for Advancement of Diversity in IP Law.  
Connect with Micheal on LinkedIn.  
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.   
Learn more about VPG here. 

Honor Your Light with Kavita Battula | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 37

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat on ‘Honor Your Light’ features Kavita Battula, Senior Associate at Medler Fero Woodhouse and Mills PLLC.  Kavita is a biotech patent attorney who has 20+ years of experience in top law firms and in-house. A certified Pilates, yoga, and cycle instructor, she is also an integrative nutrition coach, and is dedicated to building community, sharing experiences, overcoming fear, and breaking barriers; she is intensely passionate about health and wellness and is happiest when whole-foods plant-based meals for her friends and family.  
Kavita's first love is books, and she is an avid reader and writer. You'll see her contributions on various blogs and soon on her own website. She is the founder and CEO of KaVie, LLC, focused on bringing more love and light into the world. 
Connect with Kavita on LinkedIn.  
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.   
Learn more about VPG here. 

A Chat with ‘Iolani L. Bullock, Vice President of DEI at The Carlyle Group | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 36

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features ‘Iolani L. Bullock, Vice President of DEI at The Carlyle Group.  
‘Iolani is a dedicated advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She holds a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and graduated Magna Cum Laude from New York University with a B.A. in Africana Studies, Marketing, and Communications. In addition to her impressive career, ‘Iolani has recently become a children's book author, publishing Lenox Takes Flight two years ago. Her commitment to education and representation continues through her upcoming children's book, LITTLE Lenox Takes Flight, set to release in 2024.  
Connect with ‘Iolani on LinkedIn.  
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.   
Learn more about VPG here. 

Turnaround with Lisa Gable | Virtual Watercooler Chat Episode 35

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features Lisa Gable. Lisa Gable is a former US Ambassador to the World Expo to obtain billions of direct foreign investments in the US, to help build Intl’s brand management system as the company ultimately achieves a 73% share of the global semiconductor market. Lisa is CEO, UN delegate, and Wall Street Journal/USA Today’s best-selling author. Lisa speaks and leads on partnership, mentorship, diversity, relationship building, and big ideas. Lisa strives to support the next generation of leaders and organizations that are solving the world’s biggest problems. Lisa serves as Chairperson of the Diplomatic Courier’s futuristic think tank, World in 2050, and is in Dallas, Texas.   
Lisa is a thought leader who focuses on creating innovative solutions. Fortune 500 C-Suites leaders bring Lisa in as she gets the job done, using her “Diagnostic Diplomacy” process by identifying the seven most common problems that are the underlying cause of every challenge.  From health care and technology to geopolitical discord,  
Lisa is a five-time, award-winning WSJ & USA Today bestselling author of the incredible strategic handbook, Turnaround: How to Change Course When Things Are Going South. 
Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn.  
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.   
Learn more about VPG here. 

Hope Floats with Angela Evans | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 34

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features Angela Evans, Founder of Waters of Hope. Angela has over twenty years of experience as an educator and initially met Ashley Cheung through an online Airbnb experience. She has since explored various creative writing and publishing projects with her and, most recently, worked with Ashley and Michelle Kim on Building a Leadership Habitat exploring leadership principles through the lens of safari animals, and Bridging Dreams and Reality exploring various social themes facing adolescents through the interpretation and storytelling of Michelle’s illustrated artwork.  
 
Angela has published three novels and nine eBooks and is currently working on two more novels, plus grant-writing, ghostwriting, and consulting for the Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) team. She lives in North Carolina, and enjoys kayaking, going on adventures, and travel of any kind. For Angela, living fearlessly and traveling is very important.  
 
Waters of Hope is a nonprofit that provides quality of life experiences to cancer patients and survivors. You may find Waters of Hope on Facebook. 
 
Connect with Angie via email: Paddlersplace1967@yahoo.com 
Connect with Angie via phone: (828) 505-6333 
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.   
Learn more about VPG here. 

A Chat with Correna Brinck, Head of IP at IntuiCell and Founder, TheBrinckConsultancy | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 33

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features VPG’s Junior Learning Engineer, Sydney Ricks, chatting with Dr. Coreena Brinck, Head of IP at IntuiCell, a Swedish Artificial General Intelligence start-up and founder of TheBrinckConsultancy, her Nordic/UK consultancy for strategy and CXO-level IP issues.  
Sydney is a Senior majoring in Statistics at Virginia Tech. She is also a music lover and enjoys learning about data analytics.  
Dr. Brinck is an IAM 1000 attorney. She is Head of IP at IntuiCell, a Swedish Artificial General Intelligence start-up and founder of TheBrinckConsultancy, her Nordic/UK consultancy for strategy and CXO level IP issues. In addition, she also offers patent drafting, prosecution, infringement, validity and litigation support via her role as a consultant patent attorney with Two-IP, an innovative full-service IP firm based in the UK. 
A European and UK patent attorney who has worked with innovators and inventors for over 20 years both in-house and in private practice, Dr. Brinck works with clients of all sizes in the physics, communications, med-tech, and green-tech sectors. She has seen first-hand how rapidly AI and ML innovations are pervading human society and strongly advocates ethical AI. She has previously supported clients using AI in fields as diverse as electrical grid energy distribution, battery management, digital twin IIoT for smart factories and engineering systems, autonomous vehicle and vessel systems, and health management and screening. 
The next generation artificial general intelligence she currently works with at IntuiCell takes a new direction for AI and empowers machines with the ability to think and act more like humans.  
Coreena loves gardening, walking her two dogs, playing the piano, painting, and collecting art. She is currently in the midst of transforming her 1930s Tudor-style home into an energy efficient home of the future. 
Connect with Coreena on LinkedIn.  
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.   
Learn more about VPG here. 

Fiercely Joyful with Natasha Craig Durkins | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 32

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features Natasha “Tash” Craig Durkins. Tash is a senior executive in the federal government and has served in several key leadership positions throughout her civil service career. She is also the celebrated author of a recently published book, Fiercely Joyful: 11 Keys to Living Authentically & Creating a Life You Love.  
In her recent roles, Tash has focused on reconciling the challenging budget landscape, creating strategic approaches to resolving complex problems, and driving cultural transformation across organizations.   
Stemming from her passion for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA), Tash created a bimonthly communication platform to encourage the growth of employees and support organizational health by providing a safe space to expand thoughts, self-awareness, and celebrate diversity.   
Tash attended Howard University and later earned a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from George Mason University. A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, she is a foodie who loves to indulge in the many culinary delights across the Washington, D.C. metro area, where she resides with her husband and two dogs, Boomer and Kobe.    
Learn more about Fiercely Joyful or connect with Tash on LinkedIn. 
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.   
Learn more about VPG here. 

A Chat with Mishele Kieffer, IP Counsel at Medtronic | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 31

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features Mishele Kieffer, IP Counsel at Medtronic, a global leader in medical technology. Mishele specializes in patent conflict resolution, working on projects like freedom to operate analyses, due diligence issues, and patent litigation.  
Before joining Medtronic, Mishele was in private practice, specializing in patent and general litigation, and served as law clerk to the Hon. Emmet G. Sullivan on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Prior to law school, Mishele worked as a process engineer for an industrial gas company. She holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis.  
Mishele has three children, two cats, and one spouse, and lives outside of Denver, Colorado. 
Connect with Mishele on LinkedIn. 
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.   
Learn more about VPG here. 

WELL with Deepa Tharmaraj, Head of Legal at ECARX | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 30

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features VPG’s Generation Innovation summer Litigation Assistant Kiana Soleiman interviewing Deepa Tharmaraj, Head of Legal at ECARX. Deepa has 25+ years of commercial and corporate law experience in tech, in various capacities and countries, in FTSE 100, Fortune 500, and now a Nasdaq-listed company. Her career has largely been driven by combining purpose, passion, and principles, which has led her to lead a global workplace movement focused on cultural inclusion with 10K+ members in the Fortune 500 company.   
Deepa is a passionate leader and a DEIA enthusiast. She also founded a women's empowerment not-for-profit called WELL, which facilitates faith-based conversation and connection on leadership for women everywhere.  
Connect with Deepa on LinkedIn.  
  
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.   
Learn more about VPG here.