Helen Goff Foster

Partner

Data-driven innovation is my passion and financial services are my inspiration.

Helen Goff Foster, CIPP/US and CIPP/E, has enjoyed a diverse career in financial privacy, cybersecurity and consumer protection law, spanning four federal agencies and the White House Cybersecurity Directorate. She provides nuanced counsel to a variety of financial services, retail, and technology sector clients on the full range of privacy and data protection issues, including Regulation P, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, New York Department of Financial Services cybersecurity rules, and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard requirements.

A former Federal Trade Commission senior attorney, Helen led rulemaking teams that produced some of the first FTC rules under the FCRA and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Her unique prospective provides clients with the knowledge-base of a former regulator and the business savvy of an experienced in-house implementer. A passionate advocate for data-driven innovation, Helen thrives at the intersection of financial services, technology and data strategy.

Practice Highlights

Financial privacy and FinTech

Helen counsels financial institutions, payment processors, and financial services innovators on how to use data without running afoul of the myriad of applicable privacy and cybersecurity standards, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), New York Department of Financial Services regulations (DFS), and network and payment card rules, such as PCI-DSS. She is a co-chair of DWT’s FinTech working group.

Technology-forward privacy and cybersecurity counseling

Helen assists clients in multiple industries, including retail, hospitality, and technology, to leverage data for innovation, and to keep pace with the fast-growing catalog of privacy and cybersecurity requirements, including California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Clients rely on Helen to develop compliance solutions that enable innovation, and to deliver practical advice at mission-speed.

Insight from the agency/regulators point of view

Helen offers clients the insider’s view on privacy and cybersecurity regulation and compliance. Having served in leadership positions in the White House Cybersecurity Directorate, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Privacy Office, Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development—she possesses a special knack communicating with diverse business lines, technologists, and government officials on their own terms.

* Denotes prior experience

Admitted to Practice

District of Columbia

Education

J.D., Georgetown University Law Center
- Dean's Certificate
B.A., Business Administration, Villanova University
- Margaret Powell Esmonde Essay Award

Memberships & Affiliations

- District of Columbia Bar Association
- Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), EC Council
- Certified International Privacy Professional (CIPP/US), International Association of Privacy Professionals

Professional Recognition

- Fed100 "Transparency Czar," Federal Week Magazine, March 2015
- Nominated for a "Service to America Medal," January 2015

Background

- Executive Lead for Reorganization and Change Management, Office of Financial Research, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Washington, D.C., 2018
- Chief Privacy Officer and Chief FOIA Officer; Chief Administrative Officer and Executive Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C., 2016-2018
- Deputy Assistant Secretary for Privacy, Transparency, and Records, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Washington, D.C., 2013-2016
- Director for Privacy and Civil Liberties, National Security Council, The White House, Washington, D.C., 2012-2013
- Senior Director, Privacy Policy, Information Sharing, and Intelligence, Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, D.C., 2009-2013
- Counsel, Banking and Consumer Financial Services, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, Washington, D.C, 2007-2009
- Counsel, Financial Institutions Group, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Washington, D.C., 2004-2007
- Senior Attorney, Division of Financial Practices, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C., 1998-2002, 2003-2004
- Associate, Privacy, Consumer Protection, and Lending, Bryan Cave LLP, Washington, D.C., 2002-2003
- Litigation Associate, Bogin and Eig PC, Washington, D.C., 1996-1998
- Law Clerk, Bogin and Eig PC, Washington, D.C., 1995-1996

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