This Community Outreach Office, temporarily located at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, will serve aspiring and current innovators and entrepreneurs in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, connecting them with important government resources to assist them in their intellectual property (IP) journeys. 

As the Community Outreach Office Director, Modricker will carry out the strategic direction of the USPTO’s Office of Public Engagement (OPE) and ensure the USPTO’s initiatives and programs are tailored to the area’s unique ecosystem of industries and stakeholders. Specifically, Modricker will lead the first community outreach office in its effort to expand our nation’s innovation ecosystem and serve and grow the area’s nearly 800+ patent holders and 5,000+ trademark registrants fueling local industries and economies.   

“Our first Community Outreach Office and Director is a clear example of USPTO’s commitment to enhancing our local outreach efforts and reaching more people where they are with key resources so they can start businesses, address local needs, and drive innovative change in their communities,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Kathi Vidal. “I am pleased to welcome Daniel to our outreach team and look forward to growing the inclusive innovation economy in the northern New England area through his leadership.”  

“I’m thrilled that the USPTO is naming the first Director of its Northern New England Community Outreach Office,” said U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). “Through working with Secretary Raimondo and Director Vidal, we were able to bring this important resource to the Granite State that will spur economic growth, create business opportunities and jobs and advance cutting-edge technologies. I look forward to working together and supporting Director Modricker.”

“As a native of the New England area, I’m honored to be stepping into this role,” said Modricker. “I’m incredibly excited to serve the entrepreneurs and inventors of the northern New England region by creating intellectual property awareness and increasing participation in the innovation ecosystem.” 

Prior to joining the USPTO, Modricker served as Regional Sector Outreach Coordinator for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), overseeing CISA’s Partnership Engagement and Exercise Team across New England. In this role, Modricker was responsible for strengthening the CISA’s relationships at the local level with partners in law enforcement, government, community groups, academia, and the private sector.  

Before joining CISA in 2015, Modricker served in various national security roles within the federal and military services. As the National Spokesman for the Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) in Washington, D.C., Modricker led a collaborative communications team consisting of officials from the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and others to advance messaging on initiatives, enforcement actions, and other key information relative to the U.S. government’s response to IP theft. Modricker also previously served in the Marine Corps as a helicopter crew chief for HMX-1 in direct service of the White House during the Sept. 11 attacks, before commissioning with the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves. Additionally, Modricker was an adjunct professor at Northeastern University where he taught courses on crisis communications and homeland security.  

Modricker earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Business Economics from London Metropolitan University and a Masters in Geopolitics and Territorial Security from King’s College London.   

The USPTO operates a headquarters and Northeast Regional Outreach Office in Alexandria, Virginia, and four additional regional outreach offices across the nation. While all USPTO outreach offices provide assistance to any and all stakeholders regardless of their location, the Northeast Regional Outreach Office offers specialized programming for inventors and entrepreneurs in the Northeast region.  

Under the Unleashing American Innovators Act (UAIA) of 2022, the USPTO will enhance our outreach efforts by setting up four community outreach offices by 2027 across the country, with our first one opening in the northern New England area. The new Northern New England Community Outreach Office will serve as an extension of the agency’s outreach operations and will function as important resource center to better serve local inventors and entrepreneurs in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Combined with our examining corps, our outreach offices provide inventors, entrepreneurs, and small businesses with a USPTO presence in every U.S. time zone.  

Staff in our outreach offices work closely with intellectual property practitioners and services, startups, and job-growth accelerators. They also collaborate with local science, technology, engineering and mathematics organizations on outreach and educational programing. Additionally, we operate a network of nearly 100 Patent and Trademark Resource Centers (PTRCs) in 47 states and territories, including Puerto Rico. PTRCs are public, state, and academic libraries designated by the USPTO to assist the public with using patent and trademark search tools and identifying key resources. Please visit our updated USPTO Locations page to learn more about USPTO resources in your community.  

Are you an aspiring or current inventor or a small business or start-up owner looking for information on how to identify and protect your intellectual property to help strengthen your business success? Stay current with the USPTO by subscribing to receive email updates at our Subscription Center at www.uspto.gov/subscribe.