DHS' New Privacy Officer

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced today that she has appointed Mary Ellen Callahan as chief privacy officer for the department. Callahan is a partner in the international law firm Hogan and Harston in Washington working on privacy and security issues.

From her bio:

Mary Ellen has extensive experience working with multinational companies on a variety of privacy and security issues, including companies' policies (terms and conditions, privacy policies, and security policies) and wide-scale audits of clients' privacy and security policies as they relate to relevant federal and state legislation. For example, Mary Ellen counsels on online and offline marketing issues generally; drafts Web site privacy policies and terms of use; helps create and implement privacy and security-related compliance strategies and programs; and counsels corporations, associations, and other organizations on various e-mail compliance issues with regard to existing laws, best practices, and conducting both effective and legally compliant e-mail marketing campaigns.