Born in Cairo in 1952 to ethnic Armenian parents Artin and Lucie Cavoukian, Cavoukian immigrated to Toronto with her family in 1958. She is the sister of the well-known Canadian children's entertainer Raffi and Onnig Cavoukian (commonly called "Cavouk"), a well-known photographer.
She took a B.A. at York University in Toronto and then received an MA and Ph.D in psychology from the University of Toronto, specializing in criminology and law.
In the 1980s, she headed the Research Services Branch for the provincial Attorney General. Joining the Ontario provincial Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner in 1987, Cavoukian served as its first Director of Compliance followed by her appointment as Assistant Commissioner in 1990.
Dr. Ann Cavoukian is recognized as one of the leading privacy experts in the world. An avowed believer in the role that technology can play in protecting privacy, Dr. Cavoukian’s leadership has seen her office develop a number of tools and procedures to ensure that privacy is protected in Ontario – and around the world. Dr. Cavoukian is Ontario's first Information and Privacy Commissioner to be re-appointed for an unprecedented third term. Initially appointed in 1997, her role in overseeing the operations of the freedom of information and privacy laws in Canada’s most populous province has been extended to 2014. Like the Auditor General, she serves as an Officer of the Legislature, independent of the government of the day. Noted for her seminal work on Privacy Enhancing Technologies in 1995, her mantra of “privacy by design” seeks to embed privacy into the design specifications of technology, thereby achieving the strongest protections.
LINK: Read Ann Cavoukian's tips on online privacy
She took a B.A. at York University in Toronto and then received an MA and Ph.D in psychology from the University of Toronto, specializing in criminology and law.
In the 1980s, she headed the Research Services Branch for the provincial Attorney General. Joining the Ontario provincial Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner in 1987, Cavoukian served as its first Director of Compliance followed by her appointment as Assistant Commissioner in 1990.
Dr. Ann Cavoukian is recognized as one of the leading privacy experts in the world. An avowed believer in the role that technology can play in protecting privacy, Dr. Cavoukian’s leadership has seen her office develop a number of tools and procedures to ensure that privacy is protected in Ontario – and around the world. Dr. Cavoukian is Ontario's first Information and Privacy Commissioner to be re-appointed for an unprecedented third term. Initially appointed in 1997, her role in overseeing the operations of the freedom of information and privacy laws in Canada’s most populous province has been extended to 2014. Like the Auditor General, she serves as an Officer of the Legislature, independent of the government of the day. Noted for her seminal work on Privacy Enhancing Technologies in 1995, her mantra of “privacy by design” seeks to embed privacy into the design specifications of technology, thereby achieving the strongest protections.
LINK: Read Ann Cavoukian's tips on online privacy