Most organizations have privacy policies. Fewer have programs that work in practice. Applied Privacy Consulting turns privacy and AI governance requirements into day-to-day operations your teams can actually run.
A policy binder isn't a privacy program. We assess where you actually stand against your obligations, then build the operating model (roles, workflows, and controls) that turns requirements into something your teams run every day. We stand up the risk and control self-assessments and compliance library behind it, so you can evidence your position to auditors and regulators on demand.
AI is moving into your operations faster than oversight can keep up. We stand up AI governance programs (model inventories, risk assessments, and use policies) so you can adopt AI responsibly and prove it to regulators, customers, and your board.
Most data maps go stale within months. We build maintainable data flows with clear obligation ownership, so your records reflect how the business actually operates, not how it did at audit time.
We run the privacy and data protection impact assessments that clear new projects before they launch, not at audit time. And we standardize and automate the process itself, so screening becomes a repeatable step your teams trigger on their own instead of a bottleneck.
Program ownership without a full-time hire. Rasha embeds as your Data Protection Officer at 10 to 20 hours per month, carrying the accountability and senior judgment your team needs to move forward, without adding headcount.
Sometimes you don't need advice, you need hands. We loan you a trained privacy resource, part-time or full-time, to execute data mapping, assessments, and program work under clear direction, scaling your capacity without a permanent hire.
Privacy and AI law changes faster than most teams can monitor. We watch the landscape across your operating jurisdictions and translate new requirements into concrete operational steps, before they become surprises.
Generic policy templates don't reflect your risk profile. We draft privacy and AI policies, standards, and notices in plain language your teams can follow, and keep them current as your operations and the law change, so they stay accurate instead of drifting out of date.
A program only works if your people know their part in it. We deliver targeted training in privacy fundamentals, AI literacy, and role-specific enablement, so obligations turn into everyday habits instead of policies no one reads.
We start with a structured conversation about where your privacy and AI governance program stands today — what exists on paper, what breaks down in practice, and where regulatory pressure is sharpest across your operating jurisdictions. You leave with a clear picture of the gaps; we leave with enough context to propose a focused scope.
Based on the diagnosis, we agree on a working model: a Fractional DPO retainer, a defined build project, a loaned privacy resource, or a combination. Deliverables, hours, and decision rights are set in writing before work begins. No open-ended statements of work that expand quietly.
Work runs inside your existing tools and teams — not in a consultant's slide deck. Whether that means owning your data map, standing up AI governance controls, running a regulatory scan cycle, or drafting policies your teams can follow, the output is something your people can pick up and maintain, not a report that sits on a shelf.
At agreed intervals we review what's been built, what's changed in the regulatory landscape, and whether the scope still fits. We hand over documented workflows and train the people who own them, so the program keeps running without us — or with a lighter ongoing role once the foundation holds.
Challenge. The platform had grown its services faster than its documentation. Personal data moved through the product, out to third-party vendors, and across borders — but there was no single view of what was collected, why, or where it went. Its privacy policy needed to reflect what the business actually did, not generic boilerplate that would fail under scrutiny.
Work. Assessed the platform's services and mapped the full lifecycle of personal data across collection and processing Catalogued third-party processors and documented international data transfers Assessed applicable regulatory requirements against the platform's real-world processing Built a data map and drafted a privacy policy grounded in that map
Outcome. The platform now operates on a privacy policy that mirrors its actual processing — defensible, specific, and tied to a living data map rather than a static document. An annual review cadence keeps both the policy and the map current as processing activities and regulatory requirements evolve, so compliance stays aligned with the product instead of drifting away from it.
Challenge. A privacy program built across multiple jurisdictions needed an honest, structured assessment of where it stood — not a checklist, but a clear read on data practices, regulatory exposure, and the strength of existing controls, with a practical path forward.
Work. Conducted a data collection and processing audit across the program Audited regulatory requirements against current practices to surface gaps Reviewed processes and controls, and ran a risk and control self-assessment (RCSA) Delivered prioritized recommendations with an implementation timeline
Outcome. Leadership received a complete, evidence-based picture of the privacy program's maturity — where it was strong, where it was exposed, and what to fix first. The RCSA gave the organization a repeatable way to gauge control effectiveness, and the phased recommendations turned findings into a sequenced roadmap the team could actually execute against.
Challenge. Privacy and data protection impact assessments were being handled inconsistently. Intake varied case to case, requirements weren't standardized, and every assessment started close to scratch — slowing projects and making risk decisions hard to compare.
Work. Standardized intake requirements so every assessment starts from the same baseline Drafted a PIA/DPIA policy to govern when and how assessments are triggered Built a risk matrix to assess and route assessments consistently Automated the initial assessment to screen and triage incoming requests
Outcome. Assessments now move through a single, standardized pipeline. The automated initial screen handles triage, so the team spends its time on genuine risk rather than administrative sorting, and the risk matrix makes decisions consistent and comparable across projects. The result is a PIA/DPIA process that scales with the business instead of bottlenecking it.
Challenge. The firm needed to stay ahead of a shifting regulatory landscape without treating every update as a fire drill. That meant a durable process for tracking change, tying it back to concrete obligations, and getting the right information to the right stakeholders at the right time.
Work. Designed a process for periodic regulatory tracking Mapped regulations to specific requirements and the controls that satisfy them Built and maintained a compliance library as the firm's single source of truth Kept stakeholders informed of relevant requirements and changes as they emerged
Outcome. The firm moved from reactive to proactive. Regulatory change now flows through a defined process that connects each new obligation to the requirements and controls it affects, and stakeholders receive targeted updates instead of raw regulatory noise. The compliance library keeps the whole picture in one place, so the firm always knows what applies and what changed.
Challenge. Marketing and product teams were moving fast on customer engagement — email and SMS campaigns, biometrics, cookies, chatbots — and needed clear, practical guidance to deploy these responsibly without stalling the work or creating downstream exposure.
Work. Advised on email and SMS marketing requirements Advised on biometric information collection Advised on cookie compliance Advised on the use of chatbots
Outcome. Each initiative moved forward with a clear compliance path rather than an open question. The teams got actionable, jurisdiction-aware guidance on the specific technologies they were deploying — turning privacy from a blocker into a built-in part of how new customer-facing tools ship.
Challenge. The business knew it had privacy and compliance obligations but had neither the budget for a full program build nor the volume to justify an in-house privacy hire. It needed a real, defensible compliance foundation — and someone to keep it running — without the cost structure of an enterprise engagement.
Work. Mapped the business's privacy and compliance requirements to what actually applied to its operations, cutting scope to what mattered Drafted the associated policies, notices, and supporting materials, right-sized to the business rather than over-engineered Ran the associated ongoing processes so obligations were met on a recurring basis, not just at a single point in time Structured the engagement to fit a tight budget, prioritizing high-impact work and pacing the rest
Outcome. The business now has a working privacy and compliance foundation it can stand behind, maintained on an ongoing basis for a cost that fits its size. Rather than a one-time deliverable that goes stale, it has a right-sized program that keeps pace with its obligations — proof that meaningful compliance doesn't require an enterprise budget.
Rasha Hisham founded Applied Privacy Consulting after more than a decade in data privacy and AI governance — most of it spent building programs from the inside, not advising on them from a distance. At Greystar, one of the world's largest real estate operators, she stood up the global privacy and AI governance function from the ground up. Earlier, she drafted financial-sector regulation with PwC Legal Middle East and worked on governance connected to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds.
That operator's-eye view is what shapes the firm. We know what a privacy program looks like when it has to survive budget cycles, staff turnover, and audit season — because we've carried the accountability for one, not just recommended it. And because programs that depend on a consultant's attention don't last, we build the kind that keep running after we step back.
Applied Privacy Consulting works with organizations across the US, EU, and Middle East whose privacy and AI obligations have outpaced the programs meant to meet them. If your policies exist but your teams aren't using them, if AI is moving into your operations faster than your oversight can keep up, or if your compliance calendar runs on hope — that's the gap we close.
Contact Rasha to discuss where your compliance framework is breaking down in practice — and what it would take to fix it.
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Applied Privacy Consulting