Shaundra Watson serves as Senior Director, Policy, in Washington, DC and is responsible for providing counsel and developing policy on key issues for the software industry, with an emphasis on privacy and artificial intelligence.

Prior to joining BSA, Watson served as an Attorney-Advisor in the Office of Chairwoman Edith Ramirez at the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in Washington, DC, where she advised Chairwoman Ramirez on privacy, data security, and international issues and evaluated companies’ compliance with privacy and data security laws in numerous enforcement actions. During her FTC tenure, which spanned more than a decade, Watson also served as an Attorney-Advisor in the Office of Commissioner Julie Brill, Counsel in the Office of International Affairs, and attorney in the Divisions of Privacy and Identity Protection and Marketing Practices.

In her various positions, Watson played a key role on notable privacy and security initiatives, including the negotiation of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield; implementation of the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules; and policy development on the Internet of Things, big data, and expansion of the global domain name system. In recognition of her leadership on Internet policy issues, Watson received the agency’s Paul Rand Dixon award. Prior to joining the FTC, Watson was an Associate at Hogan & Hartson, LLP (now Hogan Lovells) in Washington, DC and clerked for Justice Peggy Quince at the Supreme Court of Florida.

Watson holds a privacy certification from the International Association of Privacy Professionals and serves on the organization’s Education Advisory Board. Watson is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, Virginia.