Former Homeland Security Official Joins SCP as Professor of Practice

Graduate students at Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP) now have the opportunity to learn from a leading national security and privacy expert. 

Mary Ellen Callahan, former assistant secretary in the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD) and chief privacy officer, has joined SCP as a professor of the practice this spring.

Professors of the practice bring real-world experience to the classroom, bridging academia and industry to prepare students for evolving real-world challenges. prepare students for the evolving challenges of cybersecurity. Callahan’s expertise in privacy and cybersecurity law, both in the public and private sectors, provides students with critical insights into the legal and policy dimensions of security.

“I am really excited for the opportunity to reengage with the incredible students at SCP as a professor of practice,” said Callahan. “I was both impressed and inspired by their engagement with me during my visit last September.”

During her talk last fall, the then-DHS official told students that the privacy fair information practice principles are useful lenses to analyze personal information, whether in the public or private sector.

Now that she is at SCP, Callahan plans to develop a workshop with school Chair Michael Bailey on data centric approaches to artificial intelligence (AI). She has guest lectured on AI governance in DHS and Risk and Cybersecurity Incident Response this semester already. 

She and SCP J.Z. Liang Chair Peter Swire are both recipients of privacy awards from the International Association of Privacy Professionals, the largest privacy professional organization. Callahan has also joined the University of Pittsburgh as an affiliate practice scholar at their Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security.

Callahan was a partner at two international law firms, leading their privacy and cybersecurity practices, before joining The Walt Disney Company as an Assistant General Counsel for cybersecurity and privacy.

Callahan reentered public service in 2021 when she became the chief of staff to John Tien, former DHS deputy secretary and current professor of the practice for SCP and the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. In 2023 she was tapped to become the assistant secretary of the CWMD Office.