Debra J. Farber is the Founder and President of Farber Strategies Inc., a privacy and data protection consulting firm based out of San Francisco, CA. She advises clients on setting enterprise-wide strategy for PII and PHI; assessing privacy and security risk for the protection of information assets; overseeing policy development; implementing privacy protections and security controls; advising on product and technical requirements for “privacy by design” (PbD); spearheading training initiatives and awareness campaigns;” leading compliance efforts; assisting with audit and assurance; and setting up breach prevention, response, and notification programs.

Debra is a self-described “business process hacker.” She has a natural curiosity about how data flows through organizations’ processes and systems to support their overall missions. In addition, she facilitates PbD by understanding relevant privacy-related laws, contractual clauses, and policy statements so that she may draft product and technical requirements that enable her clients’ business managers and developers to build new products and services. As a lawyer with deep data privacy information governance experience, savvy communication skills, high energy, and a love of people, Debra offers a uniquely holistic perspective on operationalizing data protection.

Debra serves as a Privacy Professional Faculty Member with the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), the largest privacy industry organization, where she leads privacy training workshops for individuals who are preparing for the IAPP Privacy Foundation, CIPP/US, CIPT, and CIPM certification exams. She is also a Faculty Member with IANS, the leading provider of information security insights and decision support.

Previously, Debra has led significant privacy initiatives at IBM, The Advisory Board Company, American Express, and Numera. She holds a JD from Brooklyn Law School and a BA in English from Binghamton University. She has also earned prominent privacy and security credentials including the CIPP/US, CIPP/G, CIPT, CIPM, and CISSP-ISSMP. Currently, Debra is pursuing an Executive Certificate in Business Excellence from The UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.