Lauren Wu
Person by Lauren Wu
Executive healthcare and privacy leader sharing practical, human insights on ethical tech, resilient leadership, and building systems that protect people without burnout.
About
Lauren Wu, Esq., CIPP/US, is a keynote speaker and former healthcare privacy executive who has spent her career inside systems where power is rarely loud, but always felt. For more than a decade, Lauren held senior leadership roles at healthcare and...
Lauren Wu, Esq., CIPP/US, is a keynote speaker and former healthcare privacy executive who has spent her career inside systems where power is rarely loud, but always felt. For more than a decade, Lauren held senior leadership roles at healthcare and life sciences companies, including Evidation Health, Roche Molecular Solutions, and Genomic Health (now Exact Sciences). Her work focused on privacy, regulation, and ethical decision-making, often behind the scenes, where policies, timelines, and incentives quietly shape who bears the cost of success. Two years ago, Lauren experienced a significant health event that required her to step away from her executive career. What followed was not just recovery, but a reckoning. She began to see how many of the systems we call efficient or high-performing depend on people pushing past their limits, and how often that strain is framed as personal failure rather than a design flaw. Today, Lauren speaks about rethinking power: not as endurance, control, or constant output, but as the ability to design systems that allow people to stay whole. Drawing from lived experience, Lauren invites audiences to reconsider what strength looks like when empathy and authenticity are treated like assets, not liabilities. Lauren is a writer and speaker on leadership, ethics, and technology, the author of forthcoming children’s books on privacy and digital literacy (2026), a board member of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), an investor, and a recent adjunct instructor at Northwestern University School of Law.
What Matters
Lauren says Health matters absolutely, noting "endorphins come from exercise" and quoting Legally Blonde: "happy people exercise."
Lauren says Mental health is "so important," crediting her therapist for her recovery and urging everyone to find a good one, even if they think they don't need one.
Lauren says Politics matters because "participation in politics is how we express what is going to come next," and she's hopeful seeing the next generation engaged.
As a former ballerina and season ticket holder, Lauren says The arts are "critical," noting they also improve academic performance.
Lauren says Sport matters, cheering on the WNBA Valkyries and calling for equal pay: "Women in sports, pay them what you owe them."
Lauren says Science obviously matters: "It is life's blood. We need science. We need scientists. STEM is so important."
Lauren loves Dogs and says they matter, noting she doesn't own one only because of family allergies: "for some people, that's their fur babies."
Lauren says Artificial intelligence matters as "the future of accessibility" and "the future of participation when used with proper governance."
Lauren says the Academy Awards don't matter, though she makes a small exception: "Love the faction."
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ViewWhys (9)
Lauren loves Dogs and says they matter, noting she doesn't own one only because of family allergies: "for some people, that's their fur babies."
Does DOGS matter to you?
Lauren says the Academy Awards don't matter, though she makes a small exception: "Love the faction."
Does ACADEMY AWARDS matter to you?
Lauren says Sport matters, cheering on the WNBA Valkyries and calling for equal pay: "Women in sports, pay them what you owe them."
Does SPORTS matter to you?
As a former ballerina and season ticket holder, Lauren says The arts are "critical," noting they also improve academic performance.
Does THE ARTS matter to you?
Lauren says Politics matters because "participation in politics is how we express what is going to come next," and she's hopeful seeing the next generation engaged.
Does POLITICS matter to you?
Lauren says Mental health is "so important," crediting her therapist for her recovery and urging everyone to find a good one, even if they think they don't need one.
Does MENTAL HEALTH matter to you?
Lauren says Health matters absolutely, noting "endorphins come from exercise" and quoting Legally Blonde: "happy people exercise."
Does HEALTH matter to you?
Lauren says Science obviously matters: "It is life's blood. We need science. We need scientists. STEM is so important."
Does SCIENCE matter to you?
Lauren says Artificial intelligence matters as "the future of accessibility" and "the future of participation when used with proper governance."
Does ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE matter to you?
Takeaways (7)
I don't have a dog right now, but that's circumstances, not a choice.
If my framework helps even one person avoid what happened to me, that's enough.
We wouldn't blame the user if a product hurt people, so why do we blame burnt-out workers?
I almost died from burnout at 41, and I was doing everything supposed to keep me healthy.
My therapist made a real difference in my recovery, and I think more people should try it.
Being healthy on paper and being actually okay are two completely different things.
I actively check my own perfectionism so my kids don't grow up with the same pressure I had.