Field Notes Vol. 1: A Whirlwind Week in Sunny L.A.

Welcome to the first edition of Field Notes!

As the industry’s first Field Chief Privacy Officer, one of my goals coming into the role was to engage deeply with CPO’s and other privacy leaders, through 1:1 meetings, conferences, smaller group engagements, etc., and then share those insights with the larger community. This goal took flight with ‘Field Trips: A CPO Listening Tour’, with my latest stop happening in sunny L.A.

I won’t lie, it was a big week—with an intense, but hugely productive schedule that included:

• Attending the IAB Privacy Compliance Salon
• Filming the next episode of Field Trips (with a guest you won’t want to miss)
• Speaking at IAPP Privacy. Security. Risk.
• Celebrating with friends at the Women in AI Governance Silver Lake Soiree and Transcend’s Pink Privacy Club P.S.R. afterparty
• Filming the next season of On Trend with Transcend
• And giving an interview for a documentary film project on the evolution of the privacy industry

Safe to say, it was an incredible week. Let’s dive in.

Attending the inaugural IAB Privacy Compliance Salon

Alongside Transcend’s Product Manager for Consent, Shaun Lichti, I was excited to attend the first-ever IAB Privacy Compliance Salon. I learned a ton—from the importance of data clean rooms, to how companies are approaching the patchwork of state privacy laws (there was a split between those applying a baseline set of controls nationally vs. state-by-state), to the state of play with respect to the Global Privacy Control (GPC).

One of the more comforting takeaways? When it comes to compliance, specifically, the technically challenging puzzle of privacy in ad tech, privacy professionals continue to be in the same boat. It was clear from the sessions that we’re all still considering (and trying to find solutions for):

• The complexity of operationalizing opt-outs across platforms, including those for multiple identities
• What it means to opt out from sale vs. opt out from share
• What’s considered “health-related” data in the context of advertising

Though it’s a bit of the blind leading the blind, it’s exciting to see the privacy community come together to try to find effective solutions to these novel issues—with events like the IAB salon playing a critical role.

Women in AI Governance Silver Lake Soiree

In between the IAB Privacy Compliance Salon and IAPP P.S.R., I made a quick stop in my former neighborhood of Silver Lake to congratulate Shoshana Rosenberg and Emerald De Leeuw-Goggin on their inaugural US event.

I love the work they’re doing to support women and allies in making meaningful impacts in the field of AI governance. Check out their website to learn more!

The whirlwind of IAPP P.S.R. Day 1

Expert Panel: Show Me the Money—Prove Privacy’s ROI with the Metrics that Really Matter

On day one of IAPP P.S.R., I moderated a panel on proving privacy’s ROI to leadership using the metrics that actually matter. From the very first prep call for this panel, we knew we wanted to avoid the typical spiel on “vanity metrics” i.e. number of DSARs and PIAs completed.

Instead, we focused on metrics that matter to the business, to executive teams, and to the stakeholders that privacy supports. We had a packed house, fielding some really insightful questions at the end. Shoutout to the panelists Lauren Reid of The Privacy Pro, Avishai Ostrin of TrustIZ, and Aaron Weller of HP for making this such a success!

Filming Episode 3 of Transcend Field Trips

That afternoon, following the panel, I headed over to a studio in downtown LA to film the third episode of Transcend Field Trips—the groundbreaking interview series where I sit down and talk in-depth with the privacy leaders, technologists, and regulators actively shaping our industry.

Episode 3 features a very special guest, so make sure to follow me on LinkedIn for updates. All I can say right now is that you won’t want to miss this one!

The Pink Privacy Party Hosted by Transcend

To cap off Day 1, I headed to the Rhythm Room to host Transcend’s Pink Privacy Club, a bi-annual fundraising event held by the LGBTQ Privacy & Tech Network during every major IAPP conference.

I’m proud to say this is an event Transcend has marquee sponsored four times in a row!

It was a fun night filled with a live band, Chappell Roan tunes, incredible drag performances (including one by the privacy community’s very own Jake Nousomme), and a DIY pink cowboy hat station courtesy of Transcend!

The cherry on top? At this party alone, we raised nearly $79,000 for LGBT Tech and the Pacific Pride Foundation!

Day 2 of IAPP Privacy. Security. Risk.

Filming On Trend with Transcend at the Transcend Booth

To kick off IAPP day two, I headed over to the incredible Transcend booth to film a few episodes of On Trend with Transcend (OTWT), where I ask privacy pros fun, rapid-fire questions about relevant topics in our industry.

For the #PSR24 edition, I put some long-time privacy friends in the OTWT hot seat, including CEO of the Future of Privacy Forum, Jules Polonetsky, Head of Privacy at Nordstrom, Amanda Gratcher, and Privacy & Cybersecurity Associate at McDermott Will & Emery (and fellow LGBTW + Allies After Party Committee member!) Katelyn Ringrose.

I loved hearing their tips on establishing AI governance, as well as their go-to resources to keep on top of emerging laws and regs. You can find past episodes on the Transcend Youtube channel, and keep an eye on my LinkedIn for new episode drops.

Interview for a documentary film project

In the afternoon, I had the pleasure of chatting with my friend and CPO at Informa, Stephen Bolinger.

Stephen is in the midst of filming a new documentary film project on the evolution of the privacy profession: interviewing prominent thought leaders about the industry’s past, present, and future—with a focus on the most pressing issues we’re facing right now.

In our conversation, I shared my story, including how I started in this profession, the path to my current role as Transcend’s Field Chief Privacy Officer, and why privacy means so much to the queer community.

It was an honor to be included and I’m looking forward to the premiere!

Connecting with privacy professionals on the exhibit floor

Throughout the rest of the day, I spoke with countless CPOs and other privacy leaders at the Transcend booth, hearing about their continued struggles with legacy tooling, how they’re adjusting to wearing their new AI governance hats, and their thoughts on the ever-evolving patchwork of state privacy laws.

Plus, that same day, I found out I was selected as part of the team providing expertise in drafting the first-ever General Purpose AI Code of Practice, a project organized by the European Commission’s AI Office (CNECT). I'm excited to bring an operational perspective and contribute to this critical work—helping to ensure the AI Act's rules are effectively applied to general-purpose AI models.

On to the next one

Finally, the day I left LA, my op-ed for The Parliament on the AI governance challenge was published. In this piece, I explore how AI governance demands new resources, education, and decision-making authority for privacy teams, and how the EU AI Act has ultimately transformed our role.

Overall, it was an incredible week in LA and I look forward to continuing the Fall Field Trips CPO Listening Tour in NYC for the Consero CPO Roundtable, Jersey (the largest of the Channel Islands) in the UK for the 46th Global Privacy Assembly, Miami for another Consero CPO Roundtable, and beautiful Brussels for the IAPP Data Protection Congress! Stay tuned for more notes from the field!