Victoria Espinel

Victoria A. Espinel currently serves in the Executive Office of the President as the first US Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator. She was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the US Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator in September 2009 and was confirmed by the Senate in December 2009. In this capacity, she is charged with developing and implementing the Administration’s overall strategy for enforcement of intellectual property.

From 2007-2009, Ms. Espinel was a professor at the George Mason University School of Law, teaching intellectual property and international trade. While at George Mason, she acted as an advisor on intellectual property issues to the staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate Finance Committee, House Judiciary Committee and House Ways and Means Committee. She also served as an advisor to Romulus Global Issues Management and as a member of the Brain Trust of the Global Innovation Forum.

In 2001, Ms Espinel joined the Office of the US Trade Representative as the senior counsel for intellectual property issues. In 2005, Ms. Espinel was asked to serve as the first Assistant United States Trade Representative for Intellectual Property and Innovation at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, creating the office of Intellectual Property and Innovation at USTR and serving as the chief U.S. trade negotiator for intellectual property and innovation. While at USTR, she testified on numerous occasions before the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Before joining USTR, Ms. Espinel was with the law firms of Covington & Burling in London and Washington, D.C., and Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood in New York. She holds an LLM from the London School of Economics, a JD from Georgetown University Law School, and a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. In 2009, Ms. Espinel founded Bridging the Innovation Divide, a not-for-profit foundation focused on addressing the "innovation divide" and empowering all Americans to obtain the full benefit of their creativity and ingenuity.