On January 20, 2021, Wynn Coggins was tapped by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. to temporarily lead the U.S. Department of Commerce.  In this role, Ms. Coggins will continue to further the Department’s mission of creating the condition of economic growth and opportunity.  

Prior to this appointment, on February 3, 2020, Ms. Coggins was named Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration to implement and execute the management, mission-enabling, and administrative functions for the U.S. Department of Commerce.  The Commerce Department has an $8.9B annual budget, 12 operating units, and 47,000 employees.  

Ms. Coggins has over 30 years of Federal government experience and has held a variety of leadership and operational roles throughout her career. Notably, she served as the Department’s Acting Executive Director for Enterprise Services, overseeing human resource, information technology, and acquisition shared-service solutions across the Department where she was responsible for delivering a Department-wide Talent Acquisition solution. Ms. Coggins also served as the Chief of Staff and principal advisor to the Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), supporting the implementation and execution of the operations, policies, priorities, and programs for the agency. Prior to her Chief of Staff role, she held multiple leadership roles within the USPTO, including serving as the USPTO Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, overseeing the development and delivery of all administrative functions for the agency including human capital and human resources, performance management, customer experience, union relations, space and facilities, physical security and telework programs.

Ms. Coggins has been a frequent public speaker on topics related to leadership, strategy, human capital, Intellectual Property, and advocacy for expanding entrepreneurship and STEM opportunities. Ms. Coggins co-founded the USPTO’s Network of Executive Women. 

Ms. Coggins received an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Clemson University and a Master of Science in Information Systems Technology from The George Washington University School of Business and Public Management. She also received a Certificate of Advanced Public Management from The Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She is married to Wallace Coggins and has two children.