Sharon is Intellectual Property Counsel for the Americas at Volvo Cars. She works at the intersection of business, law and science. In her role, she works closely with engineering, business, and intellectual property teams to protect, license, develop, and monetize intellectual property. She left a career in traditional law firms to join Volvo because she was inspired by the company’s focus and dedication to safety – after all, Volvo was the company that shared their patented three-point harness system (used in every car today). Sharon holds a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and a JD/MBA from Syracuse University. One of her favorite early career memories was initiating a microcredit loan program in a drought-stricken area south of the Sahara desert in her capacity as a Peace Corps volunteer.