About the Presenters

Daisy Centeno participated in the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Intellectual Property Skills Work-Based Learning (IP-Skills WBL) Program in 2024 through a contract with Urban Alliance, where she helped manage and provide feedback on various parts of EquIP HQ. A recent graduate of Mount Vernon High School, Daisy is entering Virginia Commonwealth University this fall, where she plans to explore a career in computer science; she is also intrigued by the fields of law and criminology. Daisy enjoys building things, planning events, and brainstorming ideas, as well as gaming, coding, and all things tech related.

Avery Wiredu also participated in the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Intellectual Property Skills Work-Based Learning (IP-Skills WBL) Program in 2024 through a contract with Urban Alliance, where he helped test content and provide feedback on user experience for the EquIP HQ site. In addition, he worked with the Global International Property Academy on projects to celebrate World IP Day. A recent graduate of Mount Vernon High School, Avery is attending American University and majoring in international affairs. Avery is an avid reader and loves getting lost in books.

Juan Valentin is an Education Program Advisor in the Office of Education at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, where he 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 concepts. Juan holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Clarkson University.

Julie LePage is the Digital Communications Strategist for the Student and Learners Division in the Office of Public Engagement at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She just started at the USPTO in January of this year. Some of her duties include managing OPE’s digital and web content for the public website, USPTO.gov, and their internal website. She helps lead web projects for the education team and measure web metrics, email marketing, and user experience, and assists in EquIP HQ management. Prior to joining the USPTO, Julie spent seven years as a Web Coordinator at the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. At the AO, she worked on assisting in web content strategy for both external and internal websites for the federal judiciary as well as user experience, search engine optimization, and email marketing. Julie started her federal career at AmeriCorps, formally known as the Corporation for National and Community Service, as a Multimedia Specialist.