"We're here. We're queer. We do privacy."

This is how De Jesus Consulting Founder and CEO Ron De Jesus, CIPP/A, CIPP/C, CIPP/E, CIPP/US, CIPM, CIPT, FIP, described the message behind the LGBTQ + Allies After Party, a night of building community, networking, dancing and celebrating individuality. De Jesus is one of a five-member organizing committee that planned the after party held during, but separate from, the 2022 and 2023 IAPP Global Privacy Summit in Washington, D.C.

The event originated from intimate happy hours with members of the LGBTQ Privacy and Tech Network and blossomed into the inclusive LGBTQ + Allies After Party, which in April gathered more than 600 LGBTQ+ privacy professionals and allies — including chief privacy officers of multinational corporations, members of regulatory bodies and some of privacy's most-recognized names — and raised USD106,000 to benefit advocacy organizations SMYAL (Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders) and LGBT Tech.

"Privacy is a deeply lived experience for queer people. And, in many ways, that's why we're such great privacy professionals. We've had to know privacy since day one — navigating the world, different people, different laws, different rules, different familial or cultural circumstances," organizing committee member and Hintze Law Associate Jevan Huston, CIPP/US, CIPM, said.

"In bringing the event together, we saw not only how many other queer people there are in privacy, but also allied folks, folks who just want to be themselves — which, again, is ultimately what privacy is all about. Being able to determine who one is, what information you want to present, or how it is you want to operate in professional spaces. Our work is about building that community, allowing folks to further be themselves."

Members of the LGBTQ + Allies After Party organizing committee Katelyn Ringrose, Vinny DiGilio, Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, Ron De Jesus and Jevan Hutson.

Straddling a professional and party atmosphere, De Jesus said organizing committee members strive to showcase an "authentically queer" experience that is "true to ourselves and to our community," including festive attire, drag queen performances and a privacy-themed cocktail menu — "Do Not Share My Sour" and "Dark & Stormy Patterns" to name a few.

The event highlights the inclusive nature of the privacy profession, and a respect and encouragement of individuality that isn't found in all professions, said IAPP Managing Director, Washington, D.C., Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, CIPP/US, CIPM, who is also a member of the organizing committee. He said the level of support the event has generated, both through attendance and fundraising, is "incredibly meaningful."

"We live in a time and place where we can be open and honest about who we are and who we love in the workplace and our colleagues are supportive regardless of those aspects of our lives," he said. "We can dress up and have fun and still the next day work really hard as privacy professionals. We work hard and play hard."

Perhaps no one showcased this sentiment more perfectly than Jake Nousomme, FIP, Drift's associate corporate counsel, who performed during the LGBTQ + Allies event as his drag persona Dextra Denovo, "a 2023 version of Elle Woods."

"The character is based off of the powerful women who I've admired in my career," Nousomme said. "Like those women, she's poised, passionate, fashionable, and you don't want to mess with her."

Nousomme said he likes to tell a story through Dextra Denovo's performances and "always leave the audience with a smile."

Living out his "lawyer-by-day, drag-queen-by-night fantasy" was an "absolute blast."

"It really did feel like I was a superhero. I loved walking around the conference thinking, 'No one has any idea I'm gonna be a beautiful diva tonight,'" he said. "So many people came up to me with such kind words. They were so proud that I can represent both the legal community and the LGBTQ+ community through my drag. It was the first time where I truly felt seen and validated."

On the ground impact

Google's Global Policy Lead for Law Enforcement and Government Access Katelyn Ringrose, CIPP/E, CIPP/US, CIPM, FIP, said the organizing committee's mission has been to funnel resources to community causes.

"As privacy professionals, we owe a lot to the queer community when it comes to the foundational ideas of bodily autonomy, relationship privacy, sexual privacy, etc.," she said. "All of the central ideas that serve as guiding lights for us come from cases like Lawrence v. Texas, Obergefell v. Hodges, etc. It really is a helpful reflection on why we do what we do."

In 2022 and 2023, the LGBTQ + Allies event donated more than USD175,000 to community causes.

For SMYAL, funds raised help connect LGBTQ+ youth ages 6-24 with housing, mental health services, case management, employment and education. The organization also recently launched a bilingual street outreach program, and funds will help reach more undocumented and non-English proficient queer community members in their own languages.

LGBT Tech encourages the continued early adoption and use of cutting-edge, new and emerging technologies by providing information, education and strategic outreach for LGBTQ+ communities. Executive Director and Co-Founder Christopher Wood said the organization offers the PATHS program to inspire and motivate LGBTQ+ youth interested in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics careers, and its PowerOn program distributes technology to homeless, isolated and disadvantaged LGBTQ+ individuals. The organization works with 107 LGBTQ+ supportive centers in 37 states and two U.S. territories, and will distribute over USD120,000 worth of technology this year alone, he said.

A portion of funds raised from the LGBTQ + Allies After Party allowed the organization to accept 14 new centers, Wood said, while funds are also being set aide to provide educational STEAM grants. He said he's proud to partner with the organizing committee to "put those funds to use in a real grassroots way that will impact people locally, in a way they didn't expect. That's really helpful for individuals."

Through its support of SMYAL and LGBT Tech, Ringrose said the LGBTQ + Allies event is fostering accessibility and connectivity, as well as autonomy and upward mobility, "all of which, as privacy professionals, we should be really cognizant of." 

Members of the organizing committee said the event would not be a success without the support of sponsors and partners like Pitchers, which donated its Washington space for the 2023 event.

"I think unlike a traditional conference space, it allows sponsors the ability to be a little bit more unique and uniquely themselves," Ringrose said

Grindr Privacy Compliance Manager Vinny DiGilio, CIPM, a member of the organizing committee, said seeing the LGBTQ+ privacy community represented at the event and the support it generated gave him goosebumps.

"We want new professionals who enter this profession to be able to know that they have a space here and they can be authentically queer, and be proud of it," he said. "I'm feeling that in my own professional journey, and to be able to be a part of this, to be able to have those feelings that we want to pass on to other people, it's just such an amazing feeling."

It also signals to young and future privacy pros that the field is full of supportive mentors and peers, Hutson said.

"Some of the OGs in the field are here, queer and ready to support you. That's an exciting thing," Hutson said. "This is a diverse and amazing community of folks doing cool work."

Those interested in future sponsorship opportunities can contact members of the organizing committee.