Senator Chuck Walen is a North Dakota state senator and retired accountant and real estate professional. He serves on the State and Local Government and Finance and Taxation committees, along with interim committees addressing government finance, fiscal oversight, and government efficiency. He also serves on the Missing Indigenous People Task Force. Concerned that advances in artificial intelligence are outpacing privacy protections, Senator Walen is developing legislation modeled on Utah’s State-Endorsed Digital Identity (SEDI) framework. He is married and has five children and 21 grandchildren.