About

Governance Expertise. Practical Execution.

April McDonald brings a career built across high-stakes industries — real estate, consumer technology, and enterprise advisory — all converging on one discipline: making privacy and data governance programs actually work.

April McDonald, Fractional Privacy Officer & Governance Advisor

Credentials & Background

CIPP/US · CIPP/E · CIPM

Certified Information Privacy Professional (IAPP)

Deloitte & Touche · Ernst & Young

Privacy & Governance Advisor

Real Estate & Consumer Technology

Cross-Industry Practitioner Background

Juris Doctor

John Marshall Law School

Bachelor of Arts

University of Georgia

15 Years of Experience

Privacy Law, Data Governance & AI Governance

ISO 27001/27701

Readiness & Implementation Experience

Background

I help organizations build, mature, and operationalize privacy and AI governance programs. My work spans the full lifecycle — from initial program design and policy development through hands-on implementation, tool deployment, and cross-functional training.

Before founding AMAC Governance Advisory, I served as a privacy and governance advisor at Deloitte & Touche and Ernst & Young — two of the world's most respected professional services firms. That experience gave me a front-row seat to how complex, high-stakes organizations approach privacy risk, data governance, and regulatory compliance at scale.

My path to privacy wasn't linear — and that's a professional advantage. I spent years in real estate, working directly with identity documents, financial information, transaction records, and third-party data exchanges among consumers, lenders, title companies, brokers, and other stakeholders. I understood data risk as a practitioner before I ever held a privacy title.

I also spent time in device sales, working at the intersection of consumer hardware, software, and personal data collection. That experience gave me an instinct for how data flows from the product layer — not just the policy layer — which is directly relevant to clients deploying connected devices, mobile applications, or consumer-facing technology.

What those careers gave me that a traditional compliance background doesn't: I know how sales teams think, how deals get closed, how business units push back on governance requirements, and how to build programs that earn organizational buy-in instead of just sitting in a policy binder. Privacy that doesn't work with the business doesn't work at all.

My advisory work is grounded in program-level experience. I have conducted PIAs and DPIAs, built ROPAs and data inventories, managed DSR operations, directed the operationalization of privacy workflows using OneTrust and TrustArc, and led remediation efforts across Legal, Product, IT, and Security teams. On the AI governance side, I apply that same structured rigor to data use, purpose limitation, vendor risk, sensitive data handling, and governance controls for organizations deploying AI.

As a certified privacy professional (CIPP/US, CIPP/E, CIPM), I bring legal grounding, operational credibility, and cross-industry depth accumulated over 15 years of professional experience. Organizations choose to work with me because they need more than a policy review — they need someone who has been in the room, understands the business, and can run or mature the program.

Philosophy

Advisory Philosophy

Programs Over Policies

A policy binder is not a privacy program. Real governance requires operational infrastructure — processes, tools, training, and accountability — built to run in your organization.

Risk-Informed, Business-Aligned

Governance that ignores business context creates friction without protection. Every recommendation is calibrated to your actual risk profile, your industry, and your operational reality.

Execution Is the Deliverable

Strategy without implementation is just a slide deck. I stay engaged through execution — working alongside your teams until the program is running, not just designed.

Let's Talk About Your Program

Whether you're starting from scratch or maturing an existing program, schedule a discovery call to explore how AMAC Governance Advisory can help.