Her Story
About DaKeisha
I am a licensed attorney who specializes in healthcare compliance advisory, working day-to-day with healthcare companies and digital tech companies on AI governance, healthcare regulatory information, HIPAA, and federal data privacy oversight. What I essentially do is take updated policies and advise different digital health and healthcare organizations on what these policies mean for their businesses and how to update and align their internal policies that reflect their patient care. Before becoming an attorney, I served in the Marine Corps on active duty for 10 years. I graduated from Thurgood Marshall School of Law and became a licensed attorney in 2023. I'm currently enrolled in a health law LLM program with Loyola Chicago and am due to graduate in May 2027. I'm also a certified informational privacy professional (CIPP/US) and am working on my AIGP certification. One of my most notable professional achievements has been building entire privacy programs for four newly founded healthcare companies that did not have any policies in place. Outside of work, I'm a busy mom of four children, and my activities include basketball practice for my son who plays AAU basketball, and swimming classes and competitive swim meets for three of my four children.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with DaKeisha
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say my drive for creating access and equity to underrepresented communities. That's really what pushes me forward and what I attribute my success to - making sure that underrepresented people and communities have the access they need.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received came when I was struggling to figure out what I was passionate about and still trying to find myself. Someone told me that most of us do not come into our professions with a passion - we find our passion in our profession. We don't come into our careers with passions already formed; instead, we discover our passions as we work in our careers. That advice was awesome and really helped me.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say don't wait until you feel ready. Just do it anyway. I actually wrote an article about this, but that's my advice - don't hold back waiting for the perfect moment or until you feel completely prepared. Take the leap and get started.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in my field right now is AI governance without clear rules. It's obviously a very new concept, and HHS, FDA, and Congress still move on different tracks, while clients need specific guidance so they know how to operate. Right now, we don't really have any finalized rules around AI governance, so I'm kind of advising in a space where the law is still being written. That's probably the biggest challenge - trying to guide clients when the regulatory framework is still being developed.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are service over transaction, integrity, and access and equity. I believe in serving others rather than just conducting transactions, maintaining integrity in everything I do, and ensuring access and equity for all people.
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