PALO ALTO – Sixty years after Roy L. Clay Sr. became manager of computer research and development at Hewlett-Packard in 1965, a new predominately Black institution of higher learning opens a series on cutting edge manufacturing with two top federal innovation leaders on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 6 p.m. Pacific.
Shaleya Morissette, Chief, Minority Business and Workforce, U.S. Department of Energy, one of the key implementors of the Justice 40 initiative; and Mary Fuller, Regional Director, Silicon Valley Office, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, come to the Wade Institute of Technology for the Roy Clay Series: Driving Innovation. The institute, at 135 University Ave. in Palo Alto, is launching engineering management courses and has also funded scholarships at top engineering schools around the nation. see wit.university
Also hosting are the Silicon Valley Black Chamber, Silicon Valley Center for Entrepreneurial Development and the Journal of Black Innovation National Black Business Month (R).
Morisette is a highly sought-after collaborator and co-conspirator in the clean technology space. Most recently she hails from the utility sector in safety and compliance. In 2022 she took on an additional role at Dearborn STEM Academy in Boston, Massachusetts as a teacher to 11th and 12th graders – delivering a curriculum for engineering with energy in mind. Previously she held various roles in higher education, including enrollment services project manager and in global transportation as the Director of Affiliate Relations. She is the former president of the Greater Boston chapter of the American Association of Blacks in Energy. Serving as the first African American board member of the New England Women in Energy and Environment, she has been devoted to elevating and engaging women and people of color in the energy space. As a Georgia Gwinnett College Alumni Association board member and a committee member for Browning the Green Space, she has been engaged in the nonprofit and higher education space as a strong advocate for elevating minorities in the energy transition. Morissette’s passion for bringing young people into the clean energy industry has also been supported with her work with Girls Inc and WriteBoston. Shalaya received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Georgia Gwinnett College and her Master of Education degree from Cambridge College.
As Regional Director of the USPTO’s Silicon Valley Regional Office, Mary Fuller carries out the strategic direction of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO and is responsible for leading the USPTO’s Western regional office in San Jose, California. Focusing on the region and actively engaging with the community, Fuller ensures the USPTO’s initiatives and programs are tailored to the region’s unique ecosystem of industries and stakeholders.
She began her career in Silicon Valley as a patent attorney at law firms, including Pennie & Edmonds, Carr & Ferrell, and Bingham McCutchen. Later she joined Santa Clara-based Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. as a senior patent litigation attorney, rising to become Director and Managing Counsel for Litigation. She then served as Managing Director and Associate General Counsel at Maxim Integrated Products as the company’s first Chief IP Counsel. She later became General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Adaptive Spectrum and Signal Alignment, and after that, served as Vice President, Chief Policy Officer and Head of Legal at Kudelski Intellectual Property and Innovation.
Registration for in-person or online is at blackmoney.com/royclayseries
