Hi everyone!  I wanted to take the time to introduce myself, for those that haven’t met me in person.  I’m very excited to be a part of our wonderful group!  I work in the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity as the Agency’s Staff Sign Language Interpreter.  I’ve been in this position for about 2 and 1/2 years as a Federal Employee and 4 years as a contractor.  I am married and have a 10 year old daughter, Zoe and we live in Crofton, MD.  I attended school at East Carolina University (Biology Degree) and Rochester Institute of Technology (Interpreting Degree).

My hope for this year is to greatly expand not only our membership base, but also our participation.  I think many of you will agree we are facing a time that, may cause worry, concern and/or fear. Now, more than ever, I feel like we need to band together and make sure that we foster an environment that makes people feel safe and welcome.  I want us to be loud and proud, so that our colleagues who haven’t yet found their safe place know where to find us.  To that end, I would love it if you all try to make it to at least one event per quarter.  I know many of you work on production schedules and that can be a barrier to attendance.  I would also love to hear from YOU!  What types of events do you want to see?  Is there a speaker that you would want to come speak at one of our events?  Will you come if we hand out swag, have raffles or give you cookies?   Help me figure out the best way that I can serve you and our community this year.  I look forward to seeing you in person soon!  In the meantime, please check out the updates in this special edition of the newsletter.

Jen Fritz
Lambda PTO President
jennifer.fritz@uspto.gov