Joel Blank serves as the Intellectual Property (IP) Attaché at the US Embassy in Beijing, China. In this capacity, Blank serves as the principal officer within the embassy on matters related to the protection and enforcement of IP rights in China and as a primary liaison between the embassy and relevant offices of the Chinese government for such matters. Prior to his appointment as the IP attaché, Blank was an attorney-advisor in the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Prior to joining the USPTO, he was a senior attorney in the US Department of Commerce’s Office of the Chief Counsel for International Commerce (OCCIC), where he advised the International Trade Administration on international trade law issues. Blank graduated from American University’s Washington College of Law, where he served as the editor-in-chief of the American University International Law Review. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Drake University, where he graduated with majors in international business, accounting, and management.

Brett D. Gerson is the Commercial Policy Officer for the Foreign Commercial Service at the US Embassy in Beijing, China. In that role, he covers a wide variety issues related to commercial rule of law and regulatory challenges that US companies face in China. Prior to his role at the US Embassy in Beijing, Gerson served as a legal advisor on China-related international trade matters at the US Department of Commerce, and he was an associate attorney in a multinational law firm’s international trade group. Gerson received his J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law and his B.A. from the University of Arizona.

James Green is the Minister Counselor for Trade Affairs at the US Embassy in Beijing and the senior officer from the White House Office of the United States Trade Representative Beijing. In this capacity, he advises US officials and companies on market access issues and a variety of other trade related topics. Previously he served as the Senior Vice President of Albright Stonebridge Group, a strategic global advisory firm founded by former Madeleine Albright and National Security Advisor Sandy Berger. He has also served as Director of Government Relations at AmCham Shanghai and as the White House National Security Council’s China Director.

Sarah Kemp is Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, overseeing the U.S. Department of Commerce’s trade promotion and trade policy activities in its operations in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang and Wuhan. Prior to her posting to Beijing, Ms. Kemp was Commercial Counselor for the U.S. Commercial Service in Vietnam, Deputy Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Deputy Chief Commercial Consul for the U.S. Commercial Service’s operations in Hong Kong where she oversaw the Macau portfolio. Prior to Hong Kong, Ms. Kemp led the Beijing Information Technologies and Medical team for the Commercial Service. Her first overseas assignment was in Bangkok, Thailand. Sarah received her Master of Business Administration degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, her Master of Public Administration degree from Columbia University, and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychological Anthropology from Hamilton College.

Lisa Rigoli has served as the Deputy Agency Chief of USTR at the US Embassy in Beijing since 2012. Prior to this role, she was the Deputy Director of Trade Policy at the US Embassy in Beijing for several years and has an extensive career within the US Department of Commerce as a Trade Specialist. She received her J.D. from George Mason University School of Law and her B.A. from George Mason University.