Nichole Sweeney, J.D., is General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer for CRISP Shared Services, Inc., a not-for-profit company providing technology and resources to health information exchanges across the country. In this role she advises the CEO, Senior Leadership, and the Board of Directors on all legal priorities pertaining to the organization including privacy, HIPAA and data use matters, strategic initiatives and their implementation, negotiation and management of partner agreements, and core operational issues and optimization. Additionally, Nichole leverages her rich experience in public policy to strategically inform advocacy efforts for interoperability matters at the local, regional, and national level, sitting on numerous boards and advisory committees.
For more than a decade prior to joining CRISP, Nichole has held progressive leadership roles at MITRE, a non-profit operator of federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) that assist the U.S. government with scientific research and analysis, development and acquisition, and systems engineering and integration. Throughout her tenure, she has had the unique opportunity to work hand-in-hand with agencies across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) umbrella to strategically plan and develop their regulatory implementation of major healthcare legislation. Nichole partnered with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in drafting and implementing their healthcare information technology (IT) interoperability regulations.
Nichole has extensive experience in project management and team building, overseeing a team of over 60 individuals while at MITRE. Before working at MITRE, she practiced contract law at a large law firm. Nichole graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, Order of the Coif; her undergraduate degree is in Women’s Studies and Religion.
Nichole lives in Kensington, Maryland with her children, Hank (10) and Farrell (6), her husband of 14 years, Chris, and her rescue mutts, Caera (15) and Lilith Zachariah (11 months). Nichole is intentional about prioritizing unplanned time and enjoys walking in the woods, reading novels, and sitting on her porch with a hot beverage.