Event

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Event Summary

On Wednesday, February 4, from 11:30 AM-1:30 PM ET, the Bayh-Dole Coalition hosted an event on Capitol Hill: “U.S. Innovation Leadership Depends on Small Businesses and Bayh-Dole”.

Forty-five ago, Congress passed the bipartisan Bayh-Dole Act — formally known as the University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act — at a time when Americans feared the United States was falling behind international competitors in key innovation fields. By allowing universities and small businesses to retain ownership of inventions arising from federally funded research, Bayh-Dole helped ignite a wave of technological breakthroughs, startup and job creation, and economic growth that continues today.

House Small Business Committee Chairman Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX-25) shared remarks, followed by a fireside chat with Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) William Briggs. Afterward, the event featured a panel discussion between leading voices on small business, Bayh-Dole, innovation, and technology transfer.

The panel discussion examined how small businesses are vital to the American economy — and explored how Bayh-Dole empowers small businesses to be at the forefront of discovery, public-private partnerships, and commercializing research. Panelists also discussed how programs like Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) depend on the Bayh-Dole framework. The conversation highlighted Bayh-Dole and small businesses’ lasting impact on the U.S. economy and national security — and delved into why protecting and sustaining Bayh-Dole is pivotal in today’s competitive global environment.

A full recording of the event will be available soon.

Joseph P. Allen (Moderator)

Joe is the executive director of the Bayh-Dole Coalition. As a professional staffer on the Senate Judiciary Committee to Sen. Birch Bayh (D-IN), he played a key role in the successful passage of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 and its subsequent amendments. He later served as the director of the Office of Technology Commercialization at the Department of Commerce, which oversaw the implementation of Bayh-Dole and chaired the Interagency Committee on Technology Transfer.

Jere W. Glover

Jere is the executive director of the Small Business Technology Council. He is also an attorney with Seidman & Associates, P.C., where he advises businesses on regulatory, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), Small Business Administration (SBA), and federal contracting matters. He previously served as Chief Counsel for Advocacy at SBA, where his work on regulatory reform helped save the private sector billions in annual compliance costs. Prior to his time at SBA, he held senior roles on Capitol Hill and in federal agencies, including counsel to the House and Senate small business committees, director of the legal division at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and senior antitrust trial attorney at the Federal Trade Commission. He has testified before Congress more than 30 times and played a key role in shaping the Small Business Innovation Research Act. Jere holds a J.D. from the University of Memphis and an LL.M. from The George Washington University Law School.

Karen Kerrigan

Karen is president & CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. In this role, she regularly testifies before Congress on the key issues impacting entrepreneurs and the economy,  engages with the President’s cabinet and key advisors, and has been appointed to numerous federal advisory boards. She also chairs the Small Business Roundtable and is a founding member of the World Entrepreneurship Forum. Karen earned a B.A. from SUNY Cortland and currently serves on the Cortland College Foundation Board.

Jennifer Pagán

Dr. Jennifer Pagán is the Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of AquiSense Inc., the global leader in UV-C LED water disinfection systems. She earned her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she first developed her U.S. patented disinfection technologies with funding from the National Science Foundation. Licensed to the UNC Charlotte spinout Dot Metrics Technologies, her invention enabled the world’s first UV-C LED water disinfection system and ultimately the launch of AquiSense in 2015. Today, her technology is deployed worldwide and even aboard the International Space Station.

Ashlyn Roberts

Ashlyn serves as the vice president of government affairs at the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). She has been on the frontline of the Small Business Roundtable and advised the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation on matters related to entrepreneurship, economic development, and workforce policy. She has experience working alongside the Department of Commerce and Small Business Administration identifying collaborative opportunities at the intersection of private, philanthropic, and public capital. She was previously the director of government and public affairs at Prism Group. A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Roberts graduated from Wofford College with degrees in International Affairs and Spanish.