Peter C. Pappas

As Chief of Staff, Peter C. Pappas serves as the Under Secretary's political advisor, oversees all public engagement functions and manages the interagency coordination process.  As a member of the USPTO's Executive Committee, he also serves as the USPTO’s chief liaison to the White House and Department of Commerce and supervises the strategic communications function of the Office. Mr. Pappas served as USPTO's first Chief Communications Officer and Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary since September 2009. 

Prior to his appointment at the USPTO, Mr. Pappas served as Executive Vice President for Legal and Government Affairs at Pappas Telecasting Companies, which was at the time the nation’s largest privately held commercial television stations group with 27 affiliates in 15 markets nationwide. In that role, he managed the legal and regulatory affairs of the Company and served as its primary spokesperson.

Previously, Mr. Pappas held three high-ranking positions in the Clinton Administration. He served as an Assistant Counsel to the President in the Office of White House Counsel, and subsequently Director of Communications for Economic Affairs at the State Department during the first term of the Clinton presidency. He was then tapped to become Associate Chief of the Federal Communication Commission’s International Bureau, overseeing international telecommunications policy in several areas, and being principally in charge of the Bureau’s Congressional and media relations.

A member of the Bar in the District of Columbia and New York, Mr. Pappas received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He also holds a B.A. in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford in England. Mr. Pappas was a magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University and received his Master’s degree in Political Science from Brown University.