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73 Must Follow-Women in Privacy

Writer's picture: Eileen YbarraEileen Ybarra

Updated: 2 days ago


Over 50% of Privacy Pros are women, and the women in this article are crushing it despite the the following hurdles:


  • 80% of Privacy Pros have been tasked with additional responsibility along with privacy

  • 15 new privacy regulations will have gone into effect since the beginning of 2024

  • 1 in 5 report Privacy Pros report difficulty in keeping up with the changing laws

  • On average, organizations are processing nearly 5,000 privacy requests a year.

    *Source IAPP Governance Report 2024


So who are these leaders, and how are they shaping the future of privacy?


At Wednesday Women, we partnered with Osano to highlight Executive Women in Privacy in a series of features on our LinkedIn page. Through this, we connected with and learned from some incredible executive women you should follow, learn from and be inspired by.


The following is a list of 73 trailblazing women shaping the present and future of privacy. 


Tash Whittaker | Director, Whittaker Solutions


Sara Matajisic | Senior Data Protection Manager, SurveyMonkey


K Royal | Global Chief Privacy Officer & Deputy General Counsel, Crawford & Company



Rukiye Smith | Privacy & Cybersecurity Counsel, ex-WeWork, Meta


Deborah Nitka | Privacy Services Lead, Cybersecurity & Privacy Advisory, CohnReznik LLP


Tea Mustać | AI Startup Mentor



Lori-Anne Walters | Privacy Contracting, Third-Party Risk Management & Due Diligence at Merck


Shannon Yavorsky | Global Chair, Cyber, Privacy & Data Innovation Practice Group, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP


Shannon Ralich | Senior Director, Associate General Counsel, Privacy & AI, JFrog


Rachael Ormiston | Chief Privacy Officer at Osano



Victoria Akosile | Deputy Director, Privacy Operations, BBB National Programs


Amy Worley | Managing Director, AGC, Head Privacy Compliance Advisory Practice, Berkeley Research Group LLC


Caitlin Fennessy | VP & Chief Knowledge Officer, IAPP - International Association of Privacy Professionals


Luana Nogueira | Legal Counsel (EMEA & LATAM), LinkedIn



Ashley Wyand | Global Head, Director of Security Governance, Risk, Compliance, & Customer Trust at Ciena


Shelby Dolen | Data Privacy Attorney, Husch Blackwell


Caro Robson | Non-Executive Director & Senior Advisor, Spectrum Intelligence


Colleen M. Yushchak | Senior Managing Director, Cybersecurity & Privacy, Ankura


Brooklyn Jones | Privacy & Data Program Manager, Nutanix


Lisa Gavin | Founder, Data Steward PLLC


Elena Ames | Chief Privacy Officer, Inmar Intelligence


Eva Novick | Special Counsel, Miller Nash LLP


Jennifer Couture | Owner & Lead Counsel, JC LEGAL SERVICES LLC


Ashley Fowler | Senior Privacy Program Manager, Osano



Wednesday Women features extraordinary leaders with our special weekly features and we did so for a few standouts in Privacy as well:


Michelle Finneran Dennady | Chief Data Strategy Officer


See Post Featuring Michelle Finneran Dennady and read Michelle’s advice for people early in their career:

“I tell my daughters and mentees that feeding interests in many diverse topics widens your funnel of opportunity, gets you unstuck when one path seems murky and keeps life exciting. Welcome the unexpected!”

Dr. Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna | VP for Global Privacy


See Post Featuring Dr. Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna and read her advice to up-and-coming professionals:

“You can only truly succeed in your career if you are passionate about what you do. If you are not passionate, pivot. If you are passionate, embrace your passion and run with it without doubting yourself.”

Shoshana Rosenberg | General Counsel & Corporate Secretary 


See Post Featuring Shoshana Rosenburg and read why she would want to present a TedTalk on the topic of:

​​“Explainability by design and the need to enshrine a human right of digital agency and understanding.”

Ashley Slavik | Chief Privacy & Information GRC Officer


See Post Featuring Ashley Slavik and read her advice to up-and-coming professionals:


“Learning by doing is the best experience. And building something from scratch allows you the ability to create your own path.” 

But wait! There are even more women leaders in Privacy who are absolute rock stars. Be sure to follow and connect with them on LinkedIn!


Beatrice Botti | VP, Chief Privacy Officer


Emerald De Leeuw-Goggin | Global Head of AI Governance & Strategy


ShanShan P | VP, AI Governance


Maggie Gloeckle | Chief Privacy Officer, VP Privacy & Information Governance


Bianca Lins | ITSO Regional Vice Chair Region B (Europe)


Violet Sullivan | AVP, Cyber Solutions Team Leader


Jennifer Mailander | VP & Deputy General Counsel


Eleanor Treharne-Jones | Chief Executive Officer


Ludmila Morozovz-Buss | Founder, Editor-In-Chief


Scout Moran | Senior Product & Privacy Counsel


Jessica B. Lee | Partner, Chair, Privacy, Security & Data Innovations


Odia Kagan | Partner, Chair of Data Privacy Compliance & International Privacy


Ann Cavoukian | Founder & Chief Executive Officer


Katharine T. | Partner


Jennifer Howes | Privacy & Cyber Associate


Sophia Muller | Privacy, Data Ethics & Data Protection Consultant


Stevie Case | Chief Revenue Officer


Dona J. Fraser | Senior VP, Privacy Initiatives


Lalla Morris | Privacy & Cyber Counsel & Manager, Data Privacy & Records Mgmt Programs


Joanna Mull | Senior Counsel


Stephanie Giometti | Senior Counsel, Privacy


Cameron Stoll | Chief Privacy Officer


Nichole Sterling | Partner, Digital Assets & Data Management


Kayla Watson | Associate Counsel, Privacy


Rian Kinney | Corporate Counsel, Privacy & Data Protection


Kelli Clancy | Senior Corporate Counsel, Information Security & Privacy


Rebecca Hanovice | Senior Director, Global Privacy


Luiza Jarovsky | Co-Founder


Hannah Tucker | Director, IT Compliance


Frances Phillips Taft | Lead Counsel, Global Data Privacy & AI


TK Lively | Attorney


Anokhy Desai | Attorney + ILPF Fellow


Emily Jones | Head of US Office, Partner, Data Privacy, Cyber Security, AI & Technology Law Specialist


Olivia Ward | Supervising Associate


Katherine Britton | Law Office of Katherine E. Britton


Amy De La Lama | Partner


Cinthia Cruz | Global Privacy Specialist


Niamh Johnston | Paralegal


Luisa Gonzalez | Data Privacy Analyst


Mary Thurlkill | Director of Privacy


Virginia Bartlett | Privacy/Data Governance Operations Consultant


Ivy Orecchio | Senior Manager, Privacy by Design


Chris Dates | Director, Information Governance & Privacy Official


Joni Brennan | Advisory Board Member


How You Can Support Women In Privacy


One of the best ways to support executive women in privacy is by amplifying their voices. Some ways you can do this include:


  • Following these women on social platforms and engaging with their content

  • Reading their insights and interviews, and inviting them to speak on panels

  • Advocating for increased diversity in hiring within privacy companies


Interested in supporting Wednesday Women and seeing more executive women features?


To stay up-to-date with everything Wednesday Women, follow us on LinkedIn, subscribe to our monthly newsletter, and check out The Ripple—our podcast featuring executive women in leadership.

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