A privacy and surveillance expert who formerly held a leadership position at the American Civil Liberties Union was appointed Monday to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) Board. 

The board plays an outsized role in dictating policy decisions at California’s trailblazing agency focused on data privacy. The appointment of a strong proponent of civil liberties to the five-member board could have a significant impact on the agency’s work.

The newly-named board member, Nicole Ozer, currently serves as the inaugural executive director for the Center for Constitutional Democracy at UC Law San Francisco.

Prior to her role at UC Law San Francisco, Ozer served as founding director of the Technology and Civil Liberties Program at the ACLU of Northern California. 

She also was a Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, a Berkeley Center for Law and Technology Visiting Researcher and a Stanford Digital Civil Society Lab Fellow. 

Ozer replaces outgoing board member Brandie Nonnecke.