Alex Joel is a Senior Project Director and Resident Adjunct Professor at the American University Washington College of Law. He leads the Privacy Across Borders research initiative, which is part of the law school’s Tech, Law & Security Program. He is conducting research, developing programming, and teaching courses focused on the intersections between the law, national security, technology, and privacy.

Before coming to American University, Professor Joel spent nearly two decades in the Intelligence Community. The 9/11 attacks motivated him to join the Central Intelligence Agency’s Office of General Counsel in 2002. In 2005, he moved to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), where he served as the Civil Liberties Protection Officer for 14 years, reporting directly to five different DNI’s. Starting in 2015, he simultaneously served as the ODNI’s Chief Transparency Officer.

Professor Joel began his legal career as an officer in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. After leaving the Army, he worked in private practice as a technology attorney at the law firm of Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge in Washington, D.C. (now Pillsbury Winthrop), and then as the privacy, technology, and e-commerce attorney for Marriott International, Inc.

Professor Joel is an Emeritus Fellow for IAPP, where he previously served as a member of the Board of Directors. He is a member of the Future of Privacy Forum’s Advisory Board, as well as of the Data Policy Advisory Council for the Software Information Industry Association. He is also a Special Advisor to the ABA’s Standing Committee on Law & National Security.