In 2012, Debbie Sterling asked, “Why is it that girls play with dolls and ponies and tea sets and boys build with construction sets and have super heroes and action figures?” Ever since then, she has been on a mission to inspire a new generation of young girls to think beyond the “pink aisle.”

Throughout her career, Helen Greiner has been known for her visionary technological contributions that combine engineering and innovation to create new products that change the world we live in.

Today, the United States Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) implemented the Secretary of State’s removal of Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. The revisions, on public display today at the Federal Register, eliminate references in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.

This week Commerce Secretary Pritzker travels to Brussels, and issues facing the digital economy will be top of mind. As a starting point for that conversation, it’s worth reviewing what is at stake and why the Commerce Department is working to support innovation and investment online -- on both sides of the Atlantic.

Four Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) are traveling to GES as part of the Commerce delegation.

Innovation. When most people hear or use this term, they are referring to new, cutting edge technology and products. However, innovation means much more than that. Operational innovation involves creating entirely new ways of filling orders, developing products, providing customer service, or doing any other activity that an enterprise performs.

As the President of DuPont Crop Protection, I was honored to participate in the U.S.-Ukraine Business Forum on Monday, July 13, 2015. Co-hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the forum consisted of a series of high-level discussions focused on advancing Ukraine’s economic reform agenda and improving trade and investment opportunities between the U.S. and Ukraine.

This week, I had the opportunity to participate in the first ever U.S.-Ukraine Business Forum, co-hosted by the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. At the forum, Vice President Biden, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, U.S.

Last year, the United States exported $2.34 trillion worth of goods and services—an all-time record. Exports from the United States in 2014 equaled the entire gross domestic product of Brazil and exceeded all commercial output in India, Italy, or Mexico. What is more, exports are an increasingly important aspect of the U.S. economy.

This exciting event is part of the White House Supply Chain Innovation Initiative that the President announced in March.

The Obama Administration is committed to workforce development programs that help prepare America’s workforce for in-demand jobs, including the expansion of apprenticeship programs. To that end, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Switzerland’s Vice President and Federal Councillor Johann N.

Today, U.S. businesses are increasingly taking advantage of export opportunities. The data makes it clear. Companies based in the United States that sell their world-class goods to the 96 percent of potential customers who live outside our borders are critical to both the local and national economy.

On June 30, 2015, the Census Bureau’s National Processing Center in Jeffersonville, Indiana awarded a $120 million Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) to Johnson Controls Government Solutions, a firm that helps the federal government maximize building performance in technology, energy, and security.

On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. This most American of holidays will be marked with typical festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues across the country.

For the great majority of human history, the earth's rotation—the apparent motion of the sun and stars across the sky—kept time far more precisely than any human-made clock. But the invention of super-accurate atomic clocks more than 60 years ago demonstrated that the earth's rotation rate is, in fact, changing by tiny amounts every day.

Recently, Secretary Pritzker sat down with David Rothkopf, CEO of Foreign Policy Magazine, to discuss the importance of U.S. competitiveness in global markets. The discussion was part of a day-long “Competitiveness Forum” hosted by Foreign Policy magazine on Thursday, June 25.

The Environment pillar of the Strategic Plan calls for advancing the understanding and prediction of changes in the environment through world class science and observations; improving preparedness, response, and recovery from weather and water events by building a Weather-Ready Nation; strengthening the resiliency of communities and regions by delivering targeted services to build capacity; foster

This week, I had the opportunity to participate in Foreign Policy’s inaugural summit on American competitiveness, an event that brought together leaders from the worlds of business, security, and government to discuss a range of issues related to America’s capacity to thrive in today’s challenging global climate.

As the voice of business in the President’s Cabinet, Secretary Pritzker has spearheaded the Department of Commerce’s “Open for Business Agenda” Strategic Plan and focused on five strategic goals: trade and investment, innovation, environment, data and operational excellence.

Through its 12 bureaus, the Department of Commerce creates the conditions for economic growth and opportunity on both a domestic and global scale.

Increasingly, government agencies are looking to the private sector and enlisting the public’s help in order to optimize efficiency and operating practices. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is one of the agencies leading the way, by bringing private sector best practices to the government.

Today, Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews kicked-off his trip to Brasilia, Brazil by meeting with business and government leaders at the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum. As the largest economy in Latin America, Brazil offers U.S. businesses looking to enter or expand their business in the region many diverse opportunities.

When responding to the more than 1.2 million blazes reported annually, the nation's firefighters usually start with a dangerous disadvantage: They often lack critical information—even something as basic as a floor plan—that could be vitally important in mounting the most effective and safest attack.

Today, Secretary Pritzker and the Commerce Department released a report showcasing that in 2014, nearly 3.2 million jobs—44 percent of all jobs supported by goods exports—were supported by the export of goods to our Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners.