Leyla is the Haiti partner at Ideas Patents and Trademarks, a regional firm with offices spanning Central America and the Caribbean. With a solid 15 years of experience in the legal field, Leyla's journey began at the Canadian Department of Justice, where she played a vital role in handling complex cases in Regulatory and Commercial law. Her time in the public sector equipped her with a wealth of knowledge, and experience managing extensive legal documents and utilizing specialized databases to navigate intricate legal matters. 

In September 2014, Leyla moved to Haiti where she discovered her passion for Intellectual Property while working in the field. Leveraging her legal background, she swiftly became an essential asset to the Intellectual Property Sector in the Country, driven by her constant pursuit of improving processes and standards. 

Academically, Leyla holds Diplomas of Collegial Studies in Social Sciences with a Law Major from Vanier College, as well as a Paralegal Technology degree from O’Sullivan College and a certificate in law from Université de Montreal. Currently, she's pursuing a Bachelor of Law at Université Quisqueya in Haiti. Leyla's dedication to continuous learning and professional growth has led her to become part of the leadership team for the INTA Certificate Program. 

Outside of her professional endeavors, Leyla finds fulfillment in being a mother to her two daughters, aged 10 and 8, and moments spent with her supportive husband. She also nurtures her personal interests, finding solace and inspiration through her passion for running and her avid pursuit of self-improvement through reading. 

Kathy, a graduate of the University of Florida and the Philadelphia Institute for Paralegal Training, has nearly 38 years’ experience as an Intellectual Property Paralegal specializing in Trademarks.  She has spent her career in Trademark Paralegal/Administrator/Manager positions with three Fortune 500 companies (E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., VF Corporation and GlaxoSmithKline) and two AmLaw 100 law firms, including her current firm of more than 22 years, Cozen O’Connor, headquartered in Philadelphia.

Kathy has participated in a myriad of INTA events over the years, the very first being the Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1993, the same meeting the United States Trademark Association renamed itself the International Trademark Association.  A proud Committee member every year since 1994, her Committee activities include the Model State Trademark Bill Committee, multiple stints on the Trademark Administrators Committee (including Chair and Co-Chair), the Publications Committee, the Leadership Development Committee and her current appointment, the Public Information Committee.  She was honored to Co-Chair the Trademark Administrators Conference Project Team with Paul McGrady in Washington, DC in the Fall of 2006 and served on the Annual Meeting Project Team that planned the Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California in May of 2011.  She has hosted many Roundtables and moderated enumerable Table Topics in addition to co-authoring several chapters of the INTA Resource, Trademark Administration, and several Fact Sheets on the INTA website.  Until three years ago, Kathy, her husband, Anthony, and their cats, Ripley and Riley, made their home in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area.  Today, they reside in historic Saint Augustine, Florida, enjoying the water, the sunshine and attending Florida Gator football games.

Shama Elliott is a Trademark Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC).   She is responsible for managing PwC’s global trademark portfolio focusing on prosecution, registration, strategy, enforcement, and brand protection.  Prior to joining PwC in 2020, Shama worked on managing global trademark portfolios; and client training in brand protection and best practices for WarnerMedia and American International Group (AIG). 

Shama received her Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and her B.A. in Business Management from Monroe College with a specialization in Management and Operations.  

She has served on several INTA subcommittees both as member and a Co-Chair.  Shama is currently a Co-Chair of Trademark Administrators Outreach Committee and a member of the Programming Advisory Council.  She is passionate about IP and brand protection practices; and the synergy and evolution IP brings! 

Tracy is a Senior Trademark Agent with over 30 years of experience in trademark prosecution matters including trademark clearance searches, filing trademark and copyright applications, reviewing, and responding to substantive Trademarks Office objections, adversarial opposition proceedings, trademark licensing, summary cancellation, and trademark portfolio management issues. She provides strategic guidance to clients in Canada and around the world. 

She is the editor and co-author of the book Trademark Practice in Canada – a Practical Guide. 

Her significant experience and expertise over the past 30 years have led to leadership positions, as a speaker, author, member of professional organizations including INTA, ECTA and IPIC as well as Chair of various committees over the course of her career in the field of trademarks. 

Kristen Merker is a Manager, Trademarks and Brand Protection at Netflix, Inc. in Los Angeles, California. Kristen is responsible for all aspects of trademark and title clearance, global trademark portfolio management, TMO enforcement and brand protection, while also managing the trademark team’s operations, resources, and docketing procedures. Kristen has strong project management and organization skills which has been an asset to her career. Prior to joining Netflix in 2018, she worked as a Trademark Paralegal at Microsoft managing trademark clearance, prosecution maintenance and enforcement matters.  

Kristen received her Bachelors in Law and Justice from Central Washington University in 2009 and in 2017, she received a Project Management certificate from the University of Washington.  

She has served on the TMA Committee for one term as the Promotions Subcommittee Co-Chair and just started her second term as the Development Subcommittee Co-Chair. Kristen is passionate about advocating for destigmatising Mental Health conversations in the workplace and is eager to move the TMA Committee’s Mental Health initiatives forward these next few years.