President - Sue Atti
Sue graduated in 2003 from Hilbert College in Hamburg, NY with a bachelor’s degree in Paralegal Studies. She has lived in North Carolina for about fifteen years and began working as a paralegal in 2004. Sue is a Certified Paralegal through The North Carolina State Bar. She is currently employed with the City of Raleigh as a condemnation paralegal and previously worked in bankruptcy, collections, corporate and patent law. In addition to the RTPA, Sue is a member of the North Carolina Paralegal Association (NCPA) and the Raleigh-Wake Paralegal Association (RWPA). This is her third year serving as an officer with RTPA and she is also in her fourth year as the Chair of the Community Services Committee.
Vice-President - Kenyatta Upchurch
Kenyatta Upchurch is a paralegal with Sage Patent Group and has thirteen years of experience as a patent paralegal and seven years of experience as a legal assistant in commercial real estate and environmental law. In addition to her legal experience, Kenyatta’s background includes work in the fields of publishing and customer service. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kenyatta has been a member of the RTPA since 2009 and has previously served as the chairperson of the Community Service Committee and as an RTPA officer for the past four years.
Treasurer - Melissa Rutledge
Melissa Rutledge has been an intellectual property (IP) dispute resolution paralegal with Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP for the past seven years. Prior to her current position, she worked in-house for Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Inc. and VF Corporation supporting litigation, anti-counterfeiting, trademark, and other corporate matters. Melissa earned an Executive B.B.A. (magna cum laude) from Greensboro College, in 2006. She received her Paralegal Certificate, in 2003, and has been working with intellectual property since 2001. Melissa has also taught paralegal courses at UNC Chapel Hill and Guilford College. Prior to her paralegal profession, she was a member of the United States Navy. Melissa has served as the NCCP/CLA Review Course Chair of the North Carolina Paralegal Association (NCPA). She was the Public Relations/Senior and Advertising Editor of the NCPA from 2007-2009 and has previously served as the Media/Public Relations Chair of the RTPA, as well as other co-chair roles within RTPA. Melissa is a past Officer of RTPA.
Secretary - no current officer
