Eric J. Ellman is Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Legal Affairs at the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) in Washington, DC. He also served for eight months as Interim President and CEO of the Association.

At CDIA, Eric leads the federal regulatory affairs program, runs the legal department, and serves as liaison to the format teams for credit data reporting.  He participates in the management of the Association as well. With CDIA since 1998, Eric’s work has been highlighted on the front page of the USA Today Money section (June 2007), where he was called a “warrior” who is “always well prepared for battle”.

Prior to joining CDIA, Eric worked for five years for the Direct Selling Association. A native New Yorker, he has been in and around government and public service and politics for most of his life. In 1989, he became the youngest elected official in Maryland, winning a seat on the Friendship Heights Village Council, on which he went on to serve four terms. Eric also made a bid for the Maryland state legislature in 1994.

From 2006-11, Eric sat on the Board of Directors for Wonders Child Care—one of the largest non-profit childcare organizations in the DC-metro area.  From 2011-2020, he served as a member of the Board of Directors for Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Potomac, Maryland. Eric has served on the board of Credit Builders Alliance since 2016, and he was elected vice chair of that Board in 2022.

Eric holds a B.S. from American University in Washington, DC, and a law degree from the University of Baltimore.  He is a member of the bar in Maryland and Pennsylvania, and is CIPP/US certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).