Privacy - National Viewpoint

Privacy - National Viewpoint

At a time when the lives of many have been dramatically disrupted and work, education, and society’s functions are in a state of constant transition, this series from ThinkND will explore this point in history and how the work happening on Notre Dame’s campus and beyond relates to and impacts the United States and the world at large. Privacy virtual events will be the following Thursdays:

  • November 12, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern: National Viewpoint
  • November 19, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern: Global Viewpoint
To join the live events, register here.

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Featured Speakers: 

  • Christine Bannan J.D., Policy Counsel, New America’s Open Technology Institute
  • Ryan Blaney M.A., J.D., Partner, Proskauer’s Health Care and Privacy & Cybersecurity Groups
  • Santiago Garces, Director of Innovation & Performance and CIO, Pittsburgh, PA
  • Ryan Harkins, Senior Director of Public Policy, Microsoft
  • Mark P. McKenna, John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law at the Notre Dame Law School and Director of the Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center, University of Notre Dame
  • Christina Montgomery, Chief Privacy Officer and Vice President, IBM Corporation

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Christine Bannan '17 J.D.

Christine Bannan ’17 J.D. is policy counsel at New America’s Open Technology Institute, focusing on platform accountability and privacy.

Prior to joining OTI, she worked as consumer protection counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, where she advocated for stronger privacy regulations before federal agencies and Congress. During law school, she interned at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the U.S. Copyright Office, and the Wikimedia Foundation. She is an Internet Law and Policy Foundry Fellow and a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US).

Ryan Blaney '99, '01 M.A., '04 J.D.

Ryan Blaney ’99, ’01 M.A., ’04 J.D. is a partner in Proskauer’s Health Care and Privacy & Cybersecurity Groups.

Blaney’s practice focuses on regulatory compliance, enforcement, litigation and transactions in the areas of data privacy, cybersecurity, health care, and emerging technologies. He advises private equity, asset managers, health care, life sciences, retail and technology clients on privacy and cybersecurity compliance, cybersecurity incidents and government investigations, including acting as lead counsel in defending clients in regulatory investigations by HHS-OCR, DOJ, FTC, FCC and State Attorneys General. Blaney also represents investors and lenders in both healthcare and privacy and security due diligence and negotiations for mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, financings, and complex commercial agreements.

Blaney counsels clients on federal, state, and international privacy and security laws including California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) and Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Learn more about Ryan’s work and read additional resources:

Client Alerts:

Santiago Garces '11

Santiago Garces ’11 is the Director of Innovation & Performance and CIO of Pittsburgh, PA. Garces has directed the Department of Innovation & Performance since January of 2019. The Department of Innovation & Performance improves the efficiency and effectiveness of municipal services through evidence by developing talent, optimizing processes, and designing technology solutions. The Department has gained a reputation for being at the cutting edge of data analytics and a collaborative approach to government innovation. The City of Pittsburgh collaborates with Allegheny County and the University of Pittsburgh to develop a unique regional approach to Open Data. Pittsburgh also collaborates with Carnegie-Mellon University and its Metro 21 Institute to advance the research, development, and deployment of novel solutions for cities. This collaboration has brought forth more than 50 projects and $3 million in investment. Garces is the liaison from the city on this engagement.

Garces was formerly the Chief Innovation Officer in South Bend, where he became a founding member of the Metro Lab Network – and where he is a member of the board. Garces won Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayor’s Innovation Challenge, and his work features nationally and internationally. Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Garces holds degrees in Electrical Engineering, Political Science, and Technology Entrepreneurship from the University of Notre Dame.

“I want to make the world a better place through the use and creation of technology.”

Santiago Garces

Learn more about Santiago Garces’s work in these talks:

Ryan Harkins '99

Ryan Harkins ’99 is Senior Director of Public Policy for Microsoft. In that role, Harkins helps lead the company’s advocacy on legislation and policy issues relating to privacy and the regulation of AI. A 13-year veteran of the company, Harkins has testified before a number of legislatures and is a frequent speaker at conferences and other events. He is a Non-Resident Fellow at Stanford’s Center for Internet and Society, and he serves as an Adjunct Professor at Seattle University School of Law, where he teaches courses on privacy law, cybercrime, and voting rights and election law. Harkins holds a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, where he served on the Washington Law Review and graduated with high honors and Order of the Coif.

Ryan Harkins

Mark McKenna '97 (Moderator)

Mark P. McKenna ’97 is the John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law at the Notre Dame Law School and the Director of the Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center. His research focuses on intellectual property and privacy law, with a particular focus on the ways different regulatory regimes interact with each other. He has published more than 50 articles in leading journals and was the author or co-author of five of the ten most-cited articles in his field during the period of a recent study.  

Professor McKenna joined the Notre Dame Law School faculty on a permanent basis in the Fall of 2008 after visiting for a semester in the Spring of 2008. He has also been a visiting professor at Stanford Law School, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center, and the Turin University-WIPO Master of Laws in Intellectual Property Program. Before entering the academy in 2003, Professor McKenna practiced with the intellectual property firm of Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard & Geraldson, where he litigated trademark and copyright cases and advised clients on a variety of intellectual property matters. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Virginia School of Law. 

Christina Montgomery

Christina Montgomery is Vice President and Chief Privacy & Trust Officer for IBM, overseeing  the company’s privacy, data and AI governance program on a global basis, and directing all  aspects of IBM’s privacy policies. She also chairs IBM’s AI Ethics Board, a multi-disciplinary  team responsible for the governance and decision-making process for technology ethics policies  and practices. 

During her tenure at IBM, Christina has served in a variety of positions including Managing  Attorney, cybersecurity counsel and, most recently, Corporate Secretary to the company’s  Board of Directors. 

A global leader in AI Ethics and governance, Christina is a member of the United States’  National AI Advisory Committee (NAIAC). The NAIAC was established in 2022 to advise the  President and the National AI Initiative office on a range of topics related to AI. Christina is also  an Advisory Board Member of the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), Advisory Council Member of  the Center for Information Policy Leadership (CIPL) , and a member of the Board of Directors  and the AI Governance Advisory Board for the International Association of Privacy  Professionals (IAPP). 

She received a B.A. from Binghamton University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

“Growth and comfort do not coexist.” 

Ginny Rometty, Executive Chairman, IBM Corporation

Learn more about Christina Montgomery’s work through these resources:

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Privacy - National Viewpoint
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