As of Monday, February 12th, polls are open for CincyIP’s annual elections for officer and board positions! All registered voting members should have received an electronic ballot via email. If you believe you are a voting member but have not received a ballot, please contact us at secretary@cincyip.org. Voting will remain open through Wednesday, February 14th.
Meet the candidates for Vice President, Secretary, and Board of Directors below.
VICE PRESIDENT
Meredith Miller: Meredith Miller is a registered patent attorney at Stevens and Showalter LLP. Meredith’s practice focuses on patent procurement and portfolio development for inventions relating to biotechnology, chemical engineering, and mechanical devices. She started her professional career in intellectual property law as a patent agent in 2019 and began practicing as an attorney in 2020.
Meredith received a J.D. from Fordham University, an M.S. in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University, and a B.S. in Biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University. Prior to practicing law, Meredith was a structural biology researcher at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, specializing in protein x-ray crystallography, electron microscopy, and enzyme kinetics. Through this research, she has been published in Nature and Cell Reports.
Meredith is the Vice President of the South Ohio section of the Society of Women Engineers, having previously served as President for two terms, and has presented at regional SWE conferences. Meredith also held leadership positions in multiple organizations during her time in law school and college. Meredith often presents about patent law and inventions to students, and has developed engaging presentations and activities for a variety of educational levels. In her free time, Meredith enjoys playing in a variety of recreational sports leagues, cooking, dancing, and doing trivia. Meredith is also passionate about civil rights, sustainability, and buckeye football.
Greg Wuennenberg: Greg is a patent attorney who counsels clients on intellectual property matters and provides patent preparation and prosecution services in the electrical, software, and electromechanical fields. His experience and technical knowledge spans technical domains including automotive control and power systems; autonomous driving technologies; artificial intelligence including applications of machine learning, computer software, financial, and business methods; medical diagnostic systems; and others.
Prior to joining the firm he worked at The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), where he led development activities and delivery of rechargeable battery technologies and power devices. He also assisted on several patent related matters, including claim interpretation, literal infringement analysis, and freedom to practice studies. While with P&G he was honored with several recognitions, including the Duracell’s President’s Award and the R&D Innovation Award and was promoted to senior engineer.
SECRETARY
Jennifer Faigle: Jennifer is an in-house IP attorney at Lung Therapeutics. Ms. Faigle serves as legal counsel advising to all levels of an organization on broad strategic objectives. She is a goal-oriented professional with a deep belief in accountability. She has demonstrated ability to execute game-changing solutions across diverse industries using critical thinking, organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and business intelligence skills. She has exceptional relationship builder and project manager with excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and great understanding of unspoken factors in negotiating needs and priorities. She is adaptable to change.
She is licensed to practice law in the State of Ohio and before the USPTO. Prior to graduating from law school, she earned an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering with a minor in bioengineering.
Carolyn Powell: Carolyn is an in-house IP attorney at Procter & Gamble. Ms. Powell focuses her talents on client counseling; patent preparation and prosecution in the chemical and mechanical arts; freedom to market assessments; IP strategy; contract counseling and negotiations; and patent portfolio management.
Greg Wuennenberg: Greg is a patent attorney who counsels clients on intellectual property matters and provides patent preparation and prosecution services in the electrical, software, and electromechanical fields. His experience and technical knowledge spans technical domains including automotive control and power systems; autonomous driving technologies; artificial intelligence including applications of machine learning, computer software, financial, and business methods; medical diagnostic systems; and others.
Prior to joining the firm he worked at The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), where he led development activities and delivery of rechargeable battery technologies and power devices. He also assisted on several patent related matters, including claim interpretation, literal infringement analysis, and freedom to practice studies. While with P&G he was honored with several recognitions, including the Duracell’s President’s Award and the R&D Innovation Award and was promoted to senior engineer.
BOARD MEMBERS
John Bieber: John Bieber is the outgoing Secretary of CINCYIP, and looks forward to continuing to serve CINCYIP as it continues to serve the IP community in Cincinnati. John is a patent attorney focusing on chemical arts at Wood Herron & Evans.
April Besl: More of a partner than a legal adviser to her clients, April focuses her practice on intellectual property matters, including trademarks, copyrights, social media, Internet law, advertising, design patents, and trade secrets. She services a large and diverse portfolio of trademarks and copyrights, domestic and worldwide, for a variety of clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to individual entrepreneurs and has been recognized by WTR 1000 since 2021 and by Patexia in 2022 as a Top 1% Attorney in Trademark Prosecution.
She has experience assisting clients with emerging issues related to the impact of social media, the web and technology on their business and marketing strategies. April helps clients protect and enforce their trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property from misuse via social networking sites, search engine optimization strategies, and keywords, as well as against misuse on mobile devices and other emerging technologies. In addressing these evolving issues and technologies, she provides a direct, strategic and thoughtful approach tailored to the culture and goals of each individual client.
John Colbert: John has twenty years of dynamic law firm and corporate experience, and presently serves as in-house counsel at Givaudan. He provides in-house counseling to business managers and technical personnel on intellectual property matters including: U.S. and international patent procurement, including preparation and prosecution; manages new product clearance searches and opinions (freedom to practice and trademark clearance); protects brands in a variety of ways, including investigation and enforcement; negotiating, drafting, and evaluating complex intellectual property agreements and commercial agreements having IP provisions; and implements and manages overall intellectual property portfolio strategies. John communicates well with clients in order to enable clients to manage and drive project goals and strategies.
Ashley Nkadi: Ashley currently serves as an Associate in Frost Brown Todd’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. Prior to this role, she gained experience as a Summer Associate, where she contributed to various cases in the areas of Business Litigation, Intellectual Property, and Entertainment. Ashley brings a skill set that extends beyond the legal realm, including her previous roles as a freelance writer, communications consultant, and social media coordinator.
