Every year, the Data Privacy Hero Awards recognize the greatest privacy Innovators, Visionaries, and Champions. Each of these categories recognizes their own semifinalists and honors a grand prize winner. We couldn’t do it without your help: thank you to all who took a moment to share their personal heroes. After careful deliberation, our Selections Committee has identified a new cohort of inspiring leaders to represent the future of privacy.
Grand Prize Winners
With over three times as many nominations as our inaugural year, this wasn’t an easy choice, but together, our heroes set a new standard for privacy.
Meet the 2025 cohort:
The Innovator: Anna Rogers, Senior Privacy Analyst, nCino
Innovators pioneer new creative and technical solutions to drive organizational change and set new standards for privacy excellence.
Anna Rogers serves as a Senior Privacy Analyst at nCino, a financial services platform. Anna played a crucial role developing nCino’s proactive and user-centric privacy strategy. This included creating a comprehensive cookie governance framework implemented on a global scale with DataGrail Consent, training the company on privacy by design principles, and spearheading the migration of nCino’s Data Subject Request Management from a legacy system to an API-integrated experience with DataGrail Request Manager. Anna’s nominators emphasize her ability to demonstrate the business value of privacy and keep privacy solutions simple, elegant, and intuitive. As a result of Anna’s work, she was able to prove that building customer confidence in privacy could accelerate nCino’s sale cycles.
As James Sherer (Partner, BakerHostetler) wrote, “Anna is the driving force for data privacy, supporting her privacy team as the laboring oar for dramatic changes and internal integration efforts. She is an amazing embodiment of technical aptitude and can-do attitude.”
Caleb Mabe (Global Head of Privacy and Data Responsibility, nCino) added, “Anna has fundamentally transformed how our organization approaches privacy, turning what many view as a compliance burden into a strategic advantage.”
The Visionary: Randy Wood, VP & AGC, Cricut
Visionaries seamlessly align multiple business functions along a singular privacy strategy and drive transformative change within their organizations.
Randy Wood, the Vice President & Associate General Counsel at Cricut, saw an opportunity to build cross-functional inroads with a white glove approach. Randy led a company-wide initiative to meet individually with global teams including legal, IT, security, procurement, and business unit leaders to understand and document their privacy needs. After laying the initial groundwork, Randy could build collaboration and accountability across the organization in developing a culture of shared ownership of privacy compliance.
In an early sign of success, Randy’s team was able to deliver a comprehensive data inventory of all systems that could process or store personally identifiable information (PII) with DataGrail Live Data Map. That all of this could be accomplished without a dedicated privacy officer or attorney speaks to how impressively Randy was able to scale privacy operations across the business.
Kate Hannafin (International Legal Operations Manager, Cricut) commented, “His approach balances legal compliance with evolving global regulations and practical, business-oriented implementation… By embedding privacy into the company’s culture and operations, the nominee has positioned the organization to stay ahead of regulatory changes and maintain trust with customers and stakeholders.”
The Champion: Jennifer Dickey, Associate, Dykema
Champions leverage their personal platforms to inspire and educate privacy practitioners, ultimately advocating for data privacy beyond their direct circle.
As an Associate at Dykema, Jennifer Dickey advises clients on legal risks across privacy and AI governance, especially related to emerging technologies. Jennifer’s impact on the privacy community goes so far beyond her 9-5: she co-leads the Women in Security and Privacy Chicago chapter, was recognized as an AI 2030 global fellow, serves as Vice Chair on the Chicago Bar Association Cyber Law & Data Privacy Committee, and the Young Privacy Professional for her local IAPP KnowledgeNet chapter.
Jennifer has contributed to national policy, authored policy briefs, and conducted extensive research on privacy topics, but her many nominators were most inspired by her selfless dedication to mentorship and career development for aspiring privacy professionals. For her over 11,000 followers on LinkedIn, Jennifer regularly shares job listings, recommends resources, and provides practical guidance on breaking into privacy and growing a career. Her tireless advocacy helps new voices break into privacy and quickly differentiate themselves with an elevated understanding of a complex privacy & AI regulatory landscape.
For example, Irene Herrera, a law student and AI Fellow at the Center for AI Safety, enthused “I recently gained an amazing fellowship experience thanks to her broadcasting opportunities in AI/tech/privacy. Jennifer is amazing. She continuously uplifts people in the industry and seeks to add value to the privacy space.”
Another nominee, Tamra Moore (VP & AGC, VantageScore) commented, “Jennifer’s passion for privacy is infectious… I cannot begin to imagine the number of people she has brought into the privacy legal profession.”
Semifinalists
Each of the three awards were heavily competitive. We would be remiss not to introduce you to eight extremely close contenders.
Lisa Barksdale, Director of Privacy & Compliance Monitoring, Zillow (Visionary Semifinalist)
Lisa Barksdale’s colleagues described her privacy strategy as a “strategic enabler, not a constraint.” By employing cross-functional collaboration, automation, and thoughtful governance, Lisa reduces risk while enabling innovation. Her privacy program is the result of unified and business-aligned decisions that drive consumer trust.
Lisa’s nominators explained that her secret sauce was in her transparency, both externally and internally. All teams have an opportunity to have their perspectives considered, which in turn balances regulatory requirements, operational efficiency, and customer experience.
Monique Altman, Senior Privacy Program Manager and Francesca Ezinwa, Senior Regulatory & Compliance Manager, Ping Identity (Innovator Semifinalists)
Last year, Ping Identity’s Director of Marketing Operations Molly Reed was recognized as our top-nominated candidate, meaning that Molly netted more nominations from her colleagues than any other nominee. This year, her colleagues Monique Altman and Francesca Ezinwa set out to impress. After all, it’s the exceptional privacy leadership of individuals like Monique and Francesca that give marketing leaders like Molly the opportunity to become privacy champions.
Reflecting on her experience implementing DataGrail Request Manager with Franscesca, Molly wrote, “Francesca’s ability to seamlessly integrate privacy considerations into diverse operational areas is a testament to her skill and collaborative spirit.”
With this groundwork set, Monique was able to expand Ping Identity’s robust privacy program to incorporate more cross-company training that tangibly impacts company culture. On Monique, Molly wrote “Her proactive enforcement ensures that privacy principles are not just theoretical guidelines but practical, lived realities.”
Ping Identity’s VP & AGC, Susan Hubbard added, “Monique’s thoughtful, tech-forward approach has not only improved operational efficiency but also elevated the visibility and maturity of our privacy program across the company,” while describing Monique’s effort to evaluate redundancies and harmonize the company’s Records of Processing Activities (ROPAs) in Live Data Map after a large merger.
Claudia Castro, Sr. Legal Ops Specialist, Branch (Innovator Semifinalist)
Claudia Castro has mastered technical privacy implementation, streamlining data subject requests in Request Manager and using Live Data Map to continuously detect and monitor privacy risk. By investing time configuring automations, Claudia also maintains the capacity for major forward-thinking projects, such as spearheading an AI governance and education initiative.
Ayisha Gelin (Senior Product & Privacy Counsel, Branch) explained, “Claudia’s initiative to launch a robust ROPA process provided critical visibility into our data landscape, enabling proactive risk management and adherence to regulatory requirements. She has made a tremendous impact on organization-wide efficiency and compliance.”
Katelyn Ringrose, Privacy & Security Attorney, McDermott Will & Emery (Champion Semifinalist)
When Katelyn Ringrose is not occupied advising organizations on their legal compliance risk, she is continuously adding value to the privacy field writ large. She is an advisor for Ragan’s Center for AI Strategy, serves on the board of the LGBTQ+ In Tech Network, organizes for Share the Mic in Cyber, was recently awarded the IAPP Privacy Leadership Award, and helped to launch the Women in Security and Privacy DC chapter. Even amidst these many commitments, Katelyn makes time to support the next generation of privacy professionals.
One of Katelyn’s many nominators, Camille Stewart Gloster (CEO, CAS Strategies), wrote, “Her impact on my work has been deep and lasting… She has used every platform at her disposal to make privacy more accessible, more inclusive, and more powerful. Katelyn doesn’t just mentor the next generation of privacy and tech-policy leaders; she builds durable ecosystems.”
Dwight Turner, Compliance Analyst, SimSpace (Champion Semifinalist)
With an international career storied across marketing, social entrepreneurship, and cybersecurity, Dwight Turner has a unique ability to talk about privacy with almost anyone. Dwight funnels this enthusiasm into creating educational privacy resources, including as a public speaker at tech conferences, as a mentor, and on YouTube.
While many of our Champion nominees reached primarily legal audiences, Dwight’s nominators came from more technical and security backgrounds. On a small team, privacy may sit within a security or product department, often one with many competing initiatives and relatively little exposure to ideas like privacy-by-design.
Tess Frazier (Co-founder & Chief Compliance Officer, Trustology) expounded, “Dwight is a mentor and trainer—building up junior analysts and helping technical and non-technical teams alike understand how to embed privacy by design into their daily work. His enthusiasm is infectious. In a space that can too often feel abstract or compliance-driven, Dwight makes privacy personal, actionable, and empowering.”
John Cavanaugh, Executive Director, Plunk Foundation (Top Nominated)
Non-profit leader and privacy evangelist John Cavanaugh has made an impact around the world with his valuable message on the human imperative for privacy. That message was heard loud and clear: John was 2025’s most frequently nominated candidate.
John created the Plunk Foundation to protect the sensitive information of vulnerable communities such as survivors of abuse. Nonprofit workers touched by John’s advocacy came out in droves to celebrate John’s candidacy. They weren’t the only ones – John is also the project manager for the Cincinnati AI Catalyst Risk and Safety Team, an IAPP fellow in Information Privacy, the Cincinnati KnowledgeNet Chapter Chair, an advisor to the Media Education Development Initiatives Africa (MEDIA), and the co-founder of the SHIELD Global Online Safety Conference. Many of John’s colleagues from these initiatives spoke up for his work as well. In these privacy and privacy-adjacent spaces, John teaches us that there is a human cost to privacy non-compliance.
Sabrina Donley (AI Practice Leader, CybrCastle) described, “I’ve seen him bridge gaps between people who normally speak in very different terms. He’s able to translate across roles, connect the dots, and move teams toward real action. His leadership creates clarity, not just coordination. And because he has a solid grasp of each area, he earns trust quickly and helps teams collaborate in ways that actually stick.”
Meet the 2025 Data Privacy Hero Award Winners
There are two ways you can meet this outstanding group of privacy leaders.
Data Privacy Hero Awards Meet & Greet
Our privacy community is hosting an exclusive meet & greet with the 2025 winners and semifinalists. Join on Slack and check the #events channel to submit your “Ask me Anything” questions for our esteemed guests, and log on to the September 24 privacy huddle to chat with the winners and fellow community members.
Note: This is an unrecorded event. It’s not a webinar – you’ll have full access to come off mic and chat with the winners. To ensure all voices can be heard, only the first 50 registrants will be accepted.
Data Privacy Hero Awards at the Privacy Risk Playbook
Join us on October 21, 2025 for our virtual event, The Privacy Risk Playbook: Winning Strategies to Future-Proof Your Privacy Program. You’ll hear directly from the Data Privacy Hero Award Winners in a panel to learn more about Anna, Randy, and Jennifer’s guidance for aspiring privacy leaders.
Thank you to the Selection Committee
This year’s finalists were selected in careful review with help from past award winners (GoFundMe, NETGEAR) and our friends at PrivacyWise. Every member of our Selections Committee gratefully volunteered hours of their time to blind review countless nominations and help us find our 2025 Data Privacy Heroes.
Get involved
Join us on Privacy Basecamp, our slack community of 1,000+ privacy leaders internationally, and stay informed when we launch the 2026 Data Privacy Hero Awards.
