Learn About the Panelists:

Tammy Heesakker is a Senior Business Development and Licensing Manager at Dartmouth College, where she supports researchers across the sciences, engineering, and medicine in advancing innovations through invention evaluation, patent strategy, market analysis, technology development planning, and commercialization. Her work spans fields including chemistry, materials science, climate and energy, and medical devices. Prior to Dartmouth, Tammy led translational research efforts at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Cutaneous Biology Research Center, focused on medical device out-licensing, and previously served as Principal at Tyche Innovation LLC, consulting on early-stage device development. She also held licensing and commercialization roles at Partners HealthCare and Drexel University, specializing in technologies related to nanotechnology, wound healing, aesthetic and laser medicine, and surgical devices. Tammy began her career as a senior process engineer at Merck & Co., Inc. and holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an International MBA in Finance from Temple University’s Fox School of Business, and has completed graduate coursework in biology at Harvard University.

Doug is co-chair of the Sheehan Phinney's Data Privacy and Security Law Practice Group.  He also is an integral member of Sheehan Phinney’s intellectual property law practice, having previously chaired the firm’s IP Practice Group for close to 10 years. Doug’s clients range from start-ups to multinational companies, representing diverse business interests, including manufacturing, technology, healthcare, education, and the arts. He also works closely with foreign counsel in numerous countries in connection with the protection of his clients’ rights abroad. Having litigated and negotiated complex intellectual property, commercial, and corporate cases, Doug’s litigation background enables him to bring those insights and skills to his transactional practice.

Jonathan’s practice at Sheehan Phinney centers on intellectual property, particularly patent prosecution. He specializes in U.S. and international protection for innovations in communication systems, embedded systems, computer electronics and interfaces, software, sensors and semiconductor devices, simulators, internet architectures, musical instruments and technology, optics, and medical imaging and devices. He prepares invalidity, infringement and use opinions.

Prior to his legal profession, Jonathan enjoyed a twenty year career as a development engineer with Cisco, Alcatel Network Systems, and Codem Systems. Jonathan also developed systems and software as a defense contractor and spent two years developing electronic music software for MOTU. His broad technical background allows him to grasp intricate technical ideas quickly for application within a legal framework, effectively bridging the communication gap between technical and legal concepts.