Cindy Cohn is set to take the helm at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in January.
Cohn, who is currently legal director at the EFF, will assume the role of executive director when Shari Steele steps down after a 14-year tenure.
Under Steele, the privacy advocacy has grown from just a few staffers to a group of 60 employees and the organization's budget increased from less than $1 million annually to nearly $9 million in fiscal 2014-2015.
Cohn, too, has been an integral part of EFF, working with the organization for more than 20 years. She became the group's legal director in 2000 and has led the charge in a number of EFF's initiatives, including challenges to the National Security Agency's mass surveillance program, which came under fire after it was revealed in documents released by whistleblower Edward Snowden.