About CPPA

Jennifer M. Urban was appointed by California Governor Gavin Newsom in March 2021 to be the inaugural Chair of the California Privacy Protection Agency Board. Urban is a Clinical Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where she is Director of Policy Initiatives at the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic. Prior to joining Berkeley Law, she founded and directed the USC Intellectual Property & Technology Law Clinic at the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law. Before that, she was the Samuelson Clinic’s first fellow and an attorney with the Venture Law Group in Silicon Valley. She holds a B.A. in biological science (concentration in neurobiology and behavior) from Cornell University, and a J.D. (with law and technology certificate) from Berkeley Law.

Alastair Mactaggart is the Founder of Californians for Consumer Privacy, a nationally-recognized consumer privacy advocacy group, and is responsible for creating the two strongest consumer privacy laws in the United States. From 2016-2018 he created and led a ballot measure which resulted in the passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and in 2019-2020, Mr. Mactaggart authored and sponsored the California Privacy Rights Act, which was successfully passed through ballot initiative Proposition 24 and gave Californians among the most comprehensive privacy rights in the world. He has over 30 years of experience in management, real estate development, and nonprofit leadership, and has a B.A. and MBA from Harvard University.

Lydia de la Torre was appointed to the CPPA Board by the California Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins in March 2021 and served on the Advisory Board of Californians for Consumer Privacy during the Prop 24 ballot campaign. She is an affiliated researcher at the CeDAR center and teaches privacy, data protection, and A.I. courses at UC Davis Law and U.C. Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings). Prof. de la Torre is the founding partner of the teaching law firm Golden Data Law (GDL). GDL serves clients in the not-for-profit sector, and its mission is to mentor a diverse and inclusive group of law students and recent grads so that they can grow into solid ethical professionals. Prior to her appointment, Prof. de la Torre served as an of-counsel to Squire Patton Boggs and had in-house counsel roles at several multinational organizations. Prof. de la Torre is an international expert in data protection issues and the European Union's approach to regulating data and A.I. in particular. Her background brings unique experience-based knowledge to the CPPA Board.

Vinhcent Le is the designee of Speaker Anthony Rendon. Le currently serves as a Technology Equity attorney at the Greenlining Institute, focusing on consumer privacy, closing the digital divide, and preventing algorithmic bias. Le’s work has helped secure funding to increase broadband access, improve and modernize the California Lifeline Program, and create a program to provide laptops to low-income students in California. Prior to his current position, he served as a law clerk in the Orange County Public Defender’s Office, the Office of Medicare Hearing and Appeals, and the Small Business Administration. Le received a J.D. from the University of California, Irvine School of Law, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego.

Jeffrey Worthe was appointed to the CPPA Board by Governor Gavin Newsom in August 2023. Worthe is a member and past chair of the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Board of Directors. He is a trustee of the UC Santa Barbara Foundation, a founding member of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate Board, and a member of the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission Core Leadership Group. Worthe is president and cofounder of Worthe Real Estate Group, based in Santa Monica and specializing in the development and refurbishment of Class A properties in Los Angeles. He is a dedicated leader and advisor and holds a B.A. in Economics from UCSB.

Ashkan Soltani is the Executive Director of CPPA. He is a technologist specializing in privacy, security, and technology policy. He has over three decades of experience in privacy, security, and consumer protection and previously served as the Chief Technologist for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, where he helped establish the agency's Office of Technology Research and Investigation, and as a Senior Advisor to the U.S. Chief Technology Officer in the Obama Administration. He has a B.S. from UC San Diego and a Master’s in Information Management and Systems from UC Berkeley.

Von Chitambira is the Deputy Director of Administration at CPPA. She previously served as Chief of Enterprise Risk and Compliance at the California Department of Insurance. Prior to that, she was Chief of Internal Audits at the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and worked in audits for other organizations. Von is a certified public accountant. She holds a B.A. and an MBA from California State University, Sacramento.

Lisa Kim is the Senior Privacy Counsel and Advisor at CPPA. She previously served as Deputy Attorney General at the Office of the California Attorney General, where she enforced state and federal privacy laws and drafted the regulations first implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act. Lisa received her B.A. magna cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles and her J.D. at UC Berkeley’s School of Law.

Phil Laird is the General Counsel at CPPA. He previously served as the Deputy General Counsel at the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency, where he provided legal advice and guidance to eleven state departments and boards. Prior to that, he served as Staff Counsel at the California Horse Racing Board, working on rulemaking and enforcement matters, and also as a Special Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice, advising on education law and policy. He holds a B.A. from UC Santa Cruz and a J.D. from the University of San Francisco.

Michael S. Macko is the Deputy Director of Enforcement at the CPPA. He has nearly two decades of litigation and investigative experience both in industry and the public sector, including as in-house counsel handling government and regulatory litigation, and as Assistant U.S. Attorney and Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He started his career as a litigator at a large law firm and clerked for judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals and U.S. District Court. A former adjunct professor of law, he holds a B.A. from Penn State and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Maureen Mahoney is the Deputy Director of Policy and Legislation at the CPPA. She was previously at Consumer Reports, where she worked in the advocacy division for nearly a decade on a number of issues, including privacy, data security, right to repair, telemarketing, and credit reporting. She received a B.A. in History from the University of Chicago and an M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Ron Mendoza is the Chief Information Officer at the CPPA. He is a veteran state employee, with three decades of experience, who has been involved in innovative initiatives in Information Technology and Security and has been at the forefront of implementing significant changes from server virtualization to the use of secure cloud-based services. He was most recently the Security Architect for the California Franchise Tax Board.

Megan White is the Deputy Director of Public and External Affairs at CPPA. She was previously the Communications Manager at the California Office of Data and Innovation and the Information Officer at the California Public Employees' Retirement System. Prior to state service, Megan worked at the Sacramento Business Journal and Katz & Associates, a public relations firm. She has her B.A. from Santa Clara University and a Master's in Design, Business, and Technology from the University of Southern California.