The State of Michigan’s privacy team is part of the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics (MCDA) within the Department of Technology, Management and Budget. The privacy team is led by Chief Privacy Officer Bari Wood, who serves as the state’s lead privacy official. The chief privacy officer is supported by a privacy and compliance analyst and a data steward. In addition, each state department has its own privacy protection officer who oversees privacy efforts within their entity.
The privacy team makes sure that information is handled responsibly, individual rights are respected, and the integrity of the state’s work is maintained. The team develops the state’s best practices for data privacy. This includes creating and managing the state’s data privacy program and providing data privacy training for all state employees.
The team also helps State of Michigan entities with data sharing by offering resources and guidance for creating data-sharing agreements.
In addition, the privacy team manages all data sharing for MCDA and ensures that MCDA projects are compliant with federal, state, and local laws.
The state’s chief privacy officer is advised by a state privacy committee. The committee’s members include representation from each state department. These designees are most commonly the entity’s privacy protection officer.
Data Privacy Week - In North America, Data Privacy Week is observed during the last week of January. It builds on Data Privacy Day (January 28), which marks the 1981 signing of Convention 108—the first legally binding international treaty on privacy and data protection. Data Privacy Week promotes awareness and best practices for protecting personal data. The State of Michigan formally recognized Data Privacy Week for the first time January 26-30, 2026, with a week of in-person and virtual events themed “Privacy Takes a Team.”
For questions or comments related to data privacy at the State of Michigan, please contact MCDA.
