Chapter Leadership Team
Robin Sannes
Chapter Co-Chair
Robin Sannes
Chapter Co-Chair
Partner, Dicke, Billig & Czaja, PLLC
LinkedIn Profile. Opens in a new tab.
Kirsten Donaldson
Chapter Co-Chair
Kirsten Donaldson
Chapter Co-Chair
Vice President, Legal, Digital Media Association
LinkedIn Profile. Opens in a new tab.Kirsten is one of the leading intellectual property attorneys in the country and has practiced for nearly two decades in both public and private sectors at the intersection of intellectual property law and policy. She is currently the Vice President of Legal at the Digital Media Association (DiMA). Prior to joining DiMA, Kirsten was the founding partner of The Donaldson Law Group, where she counseled clients on all aspects of intellectual property law before all three branches of government. Kirsten also served as the legislative director and counsel to current House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D, N.Y.), where she worked on a broad array of intellectual property legislation and regulations while engaging stakeholders from across the music and technology industries. She was also previously Counsel at the law firm Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr and was Counsel to the Intellectual Property Owners Association. Kirsten received and LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from The George Washington University Law School; a J.D. from the University of St. Thomas School of Law; and a B.A. with degrees in Economics and Political Science from California Lutheran University.
Jordan Golomb
Board Member
Jordan Golomb
Board Member
Patent Agent at Olympus Corporation of the Americas
LinkedIn Profile. Opens in a new tab.Jordan Golomb started her well-rounded career in innovation as an engineer and inventor after studying at Purdue. She went on to become a patent examiner; then a patent agent at a law firm; started her own consulting business, Inventologie; and presently works for Olympus Corporation of the Americas where she manages a portion of their medical device patent portfolio. Jordan has been interviewed by Inc.com, Law360 and served as a moderator/panelist for an American Bar Association CLE on examiner interviews. She enjoys teaching kids about inventions and patents with the goal of inspiring creative kids who might not see themselves as engineers or scientists to consider careers in innovation.
Sheila Niaz
Chapter Leader
Sheila Niaz is an associate with Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Her practice focuses on serving clients in the software and electrical industries. As a previous software engineer, she has the knowledge required to support companies large and small in protecting their most technical ideas and inventions. In her spare time, Sheila enjoys running (she’s an 9-time marathon runner), reading, cooking and rock climbing.
Sandra Nowak
Secretary
Ms. Nowak is Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for the Health Care Business Group of 3M Company, where we connect people, insights, science, and technology in key markets to solve problems and make better health possible. Ms. Nowak is passionate about diversity in innovation. She helps lead this effort at 3M and around the world in her role as co-chair of the Intellectual Property Owners Association’s (IPO’s) Diverse Inventors Subcommittee and Women in IP Committee, where she works with a global group of IP professionals and inventors to advance diversity in innovation and women in IP. Ms. Nowak is also a founding member of the Twin Cities branch of ChIPs. In April 2019, Ms. Nowak testified before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on the topic of Trailblazers and Lost Einsteins: Women Inventors and the Future of American Innovation.
Katherine Rahlin
Board Member
Katherine Rahlin
Board Member
Senior Intellectual Property Counsel at Abbott
LinkedIn Profile. Opens in a new tab.Katie Rahlin is a Senior Intellectual Property Counsel at Abbott Laboratories, supporting the Electrophysiology business unit. She received her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from MIT and her law degree from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Prior to Abbott, Katie worked in private practice as an intellectual property litigator and patent prosecutor.
Sherry Roberg-Perez
Board Member
Sherry Roberg-Perez is a partner at Robins Kaplan in the Intellectual Property and Technology Litigation Group. She is an M.I.T-trained Ph.D. who leverages over a decade of experience working as a molecular biologist in her legal practice. Following post-doctoral work at Caltech, she worked at genomics start-up companies in Boston and Minneapolis before beginning her legal career. She focuses on intellectual property diligence and disputes involving biotechnology and medical devices and represents clients of all sizes, ranging from small biotechnology start-up companies to large medical device manufacturers.
Jennifer Rogers
Board Member
Jennifer Rogers
Board Member
Principal, Shumaker & Sieffert, P.A.
Jennifer is a registered patent attorney and Principal at the law firm of Shumaker & Sieffert, P.A. Her law practice focuses on patent preparation, patent prosecution before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and foreign offices, and client counseling, in the areas of software and electronics. Jennifer has drafted and prosecuted patent applications that cover a wide variety of computer- and software-related technologies, including data compression, computer networks, computer security, mobile devices, radio-frequency identification, and others. Jennifer also prepares non-infringement and invalidity opinions, performs freedom-to-operate and clearance reviews, and provides acquisition IP due diligence support. Jennifer is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and is admitted to the bar in Minnesota.
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