By Brittany Sickler, Networks Program Manager, U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Women’s History Month has always been an important time for me to consider the remarkable—and ordinary—stories in our country’s journey to equality. For instance, just after my mother was born in 1944, a bill was introduced proposing employers be required to pay women equal pay for equal work – an...

By Nicolette Mena, International Program Specialist, Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) My name is Nicolette Mena, and I am an International Program Specialist at the Commerce Department’s Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP). I have worked at CLDP for almost four years, primarily focusing my efforts on the South Caucasus, Eastern Europe, and Latin America regions. Before joining CLDP...

By Dr. Jeanette Davis, Marine Microbiologist and Policy Advisory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) My name is Dr. Jeanette Davis. I am Marine Microbiologist and Policy Advisor to the Deputy Undersecretary at the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). I started my journey as a scientist at Hampton University where, as a freshman, I...

On March 10, Secretary Gina Raimondo joined Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and announced a U.S.-India Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will establish a Semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership. The MOU was announced at the relaunch of the U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue and will focus on clean energy as well as semiconductor supply chains. The Secretary was...

By Zakera Ahmed, New York Regional Office Program Manager, U.S. Census Bureau My love for and pride in public service came from watching my father, Badaruddin Ahmed, serve as a government official in Bangladesh. From the time I was a young child, I saw the respect he received from the community and learned the importance of civic duty. I knew I wanted to serve in the U.S. government since moving...

The March 15, 2023 deadline to respond to the 2022 Economic Census is fast approaching! Have you responded yet? Let me tell you why it’s important to do so. The economic census is, by far, the most comprehensive measure of our U.S. economy. Every five years we gather data about America’s businesses, its workforce, and trillions of dollars in sales by products and services. Data from the economic...

By Deborah Stephens, Deputy Chief Information Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office My name is Debbie Stephens, and I am the Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) for the Commerce Department’s U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). I have served at the USPTO for over 30 years in multiple leadership roles, during which I have worked to improve the automated tools and informational...

Last week, U.S. Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves traveled to Brussels, Belgium and met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. They discussed the close cooperation between the European Union and the United States on export controls to counter Russia’s war on Ukraine, the continued need for enforcement coordination, as well as European energy security. Deputy Secretary Graves’...