Tayo
Mark J. Calaguas is an attorney practicing at the intersection of law and technology, with interdisciplinary experience in nonprofit leadership and public service. As co-founder and legal counsel for Tayo, he provides legal and strategic support for a community data hub that first launched as an online public health education and media literacy platform. Mark also performs data privacy consulting and management services for startup founders, small businesses, and institutional clients. Additionally, he has worked as a staff attorney in the litigation group of an AmLaw 100 firm, where he focused on electronic discovery and data breach response as well as pro bono assistance on civil rights, tax, and immigration matters. Mark is a member of the working group for the Privacy and Safety Framework (PSF 2.0) at the X Reality Safety Initiative (XRSI), a global nonprofit advocating for safety, privacy, security, and inclusion in the domain of emerging technology, such as immersive reality and artificial intelligence.
Mark is a past president of the Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago (FALA Chicago), a founding board member of the National Filipino American Lawyers Association (NFALA), board chair of the Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (AFIRE), and a member of the Communications Advisory Group of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). He also holds several leadership positions at the American Bar Association (ABA), including membership on the Standing Committee on Technology and Information Systems (SCOTIS), Cybersecurity Legal Task Force, and the Law Practice Division’s Legal Technology Resource Center (LTRC), Publishing Board, and Law Practice Today editorial board.
Mark was a 2025 fellow of the Michigan Central x Newlab Art + Technology Creative Residency, an experiential platform for artists, researchers, and makers to explore critical questions, develop transformative projects, and cultivate sustainable practices within Detroit’s social and technological landscape. Previously, Mark sat as a federal appointee on the Illinois State Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and served as a FOIA officer for the local school council at Skinner North Classical School on Chicago’s Near North Side. Other past organizational leadership roles include: executive council member of the National Conference of Bar Presidents (NCBP), executive vice president of the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO), and board member of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area (AABA Chicago). He is an alumnus of the FYLPRO signature immersion program, the U.S.-Mexico Leaders Initiative, the NCBP Diversity Scholarship program, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Leadership Advancement Program.
Mark has presented at multidisciplinary venues such as RightsCon, the National Academy of Sciences, National Science Foundation, International Communication Association, Center for Democracy and Technology, ABA Bar Leadership Institute, Filipino American National Historical Society, Collaborative Journalism Summit, and Block Club Chicago, among others.
Mark holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature and English from the University of Michigan and a J.D. with Certificate in International Law and Practice from Loyola University Chicago.