Head Of Government Affairs
Current● Led all Ancestry government affairs activities, primarily at the state level, with an acute focus on consumer genomics, biometric information, data privacy and protection, and automatically renewing contracts.● Retained and managed a team of lobbyists in more than twenty states and federally to further Ancestry's interests for product expansion and to defend against onerous legislation.● Passed favorable Genetic Information Privacy Acts in AZ, CA, KY, MD, UT, and WY (with MN, NE, NJ, TN, TX, and VA on track in 2023) based on industry best practices and protected the industry from private rights of action and amendments to remove a safe harbor for de-identified data.● Developed and executed strategic plans to educate policy makers about the genealogy and DTC genetic testing industries, proactively positioning Ancestry's work to develop ‘Privacy Best Practices for DTC Genetic Testing Services’ alongside industry peers, consumer advocates, and the Future of Privacy Forum.● Coordinated with privacy, product, and legal teams to identify opportunities to shape state policy favorably for Ancestry's current and future product offerings.● Created a lobby compliance program to ensure timely reporting as required by state and federal law.● Served as co-chair of AncestryPride and facilitated the company’s efforts to increase our DEI&A focus.