The American Council of Engineering Companies/Maryland (referenced herein as “we,” “us,” “ACEC/MD,”or “our”) has developed this privacy policy statement (the “Privacy Policy”) to assist end users (referenced herein as “you,” “user,” or “your”) in understanding howACEC/MD collects and usesinformation collected on the website(s) or mobile (or web) applicationowned and operated by ACEC/MD. The following Privacy Policy summarizes the information gathering and use practices for the website(s) and mobile versions thereof owned and operated by ACEC/MD  (collectively herein, the “Website”). Please review this Privacy Policy before using or submitting information to the Website.  If you do not agree with the Privacy Policy, do not use the Website. By using or accessing this Website, you agree to this Privacy Policy.

ACEC/MD reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time to address changes to its information collection, disclosure, or use practices or changes in law. If ACEC/MD makes changes to this Privacy Policy, ACEC/MD will post those changes at this location and provide notice of any material changes so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. Please review this Privacy Policy on a periodic basis.

1. Information We Collect.

• Technical Information Gathered Automatically. When you browse our Website, you do so anonymously. Generic information from server logs is used to track the number of hits to the Website and to find out what types of browser software and operating systems visitors use.
• Personal Information You Provide to Us. On various pages of the Website, you will have an opportunity to provide information to us about yourself, such as, but not limited to, your name, address, phone number,and email address. You may provide this information when you register with the Website or send a message on the Website. In addition, when you register on our Website, your information, including your email address, will be added to our database and email/mail distribution list(s).
• Financial Information.ACEC/MD may collect credit or debit card information.

2. Use of Information.Parts of the Website are informational in nature and publicly available to all users. Consequently, until you participate in surveys, chats, programs, or events, register to become a member, register your name for networking with or request information from ACEC/MD, you are able to browse the Website without providing any personally identifiable information, although your browser may tell us what type of computer and operating system you are using as well as other kinds of technical information.

• Personal and Contact Information:ACEC/MD may use your personal and contact information to operate the Website and, in particular, facilitate the education, interactive community and networking capabilities of the Website, advertise its services and the services of its members and third parties, create a personalized experience for you, provide you with news, articles, and information, contact you regarding a survey, get in touch with you when necessary with respect to transactions conducted through the Website, material changes in the Website’s policies and agreements, new products, tools, or services ACEC/MD may offer, or otherwise. ACEC/MD may also share your contact information with ACEC/MD’s members, service providers, or business (or funding) partners, as is necessary to provide ACEC/MD’s services and information, to host, operate, or facilitate transactions through the Website, including, without limitation, donations, registration for membership or events, or for internal business purposes. In addition, ACEC/MD may supplement the information collected from youwith information from other sources, such as from business partners, in order to enhance ACEC/MD’s ability to provide or advertise its services or to otherwise tailor, manage, or operate the Website.
• Demographic Information:ACEC/MD may share demographic data on an aggregated basis, which will not identify any particular user, with ACEC/MD’s members, partners and affiliates and for other technical or business purposes.
• Financial Information:ACEC/MD will use financial information to facilitate a donation or other identified transaction(s).
• Survey Results:ACEC/MD may share survey results collected through the Website with its business (or funding) partners, members, and affiliates and/or the general public, the news media, and with the U.S. Government and state governments, not only for business or marketing purposes or as may be required by law, but also to participate in government programs and initiatives.
• Technical Information:ACEC/MD will use this information to facilitate educational opportunities, provide content, participation, or otherwise allow access to or use of certain information, tools, or features and for improving the Website’s performance, usability and design. ACEC/MD may also use technical information to help diagnose problems with ACEC/MD’s servers, analyze Website usage trends, track user movements on the Website, and to otherwise manage and monitor the Website.
• Business Transactions: In the event that ACEC/MD goes through a business transaction, such as a merger or acquisition by another entity involving the sale of all or a portion of its assets, please note that the information collected and retained by ACEC/MD may be among the assets transferred. In the event a transaction of this kind occurs that results in the transfer of information, ACEC/MD will notify you via email and/or place a prominent notice on the Website of any such change in ownership or control and the possible changes to this Privacy Policy.
• Legal Action:ACEC/MD may disclose information when legally required to do so in accordance with government requests or regulations or legal proceedings. ACEC/MD may also disclose information to protect against misuse or unauthorized use of the Website or as is otherwise required to limit legal liability, protect or defend ACEC/MD’s rights, property, or interests, or protect the safety, rights, or property of ACEC/MD’s users.

3. Children’s Privacy.ACEC/MD cares about the safety of children on its Website and encourages parents and guardians to monitor their children’s use of the Internet. Although the Website is suitable for a general audience, the Website is not intended for children under thirteen (13) years of age.  If you are under the age of 13, do not use or provide any information on this Website, including your name, address, telephone number, email address, or any other information about yourself. ACEC/MD does not knowingly solicit or collect information from children under 13 years of age or send them requests for personal information.  If you become aware that a child has provided information about or from the child to ACEC/MD, please contact ACEC/MD at acecmd@cecmd.org immediately so that such information can be deleted and ACEC/MD otherwise discontinues any further services provided to such child.
4. Cookies & Computer-Related Information.ACEC/MD or its contractors may use cookies, web beacons, tags, log-in files, and/or other similar data collection or tracking techniques to enhance and/or monitor your experience while using the Website. Cookies and other related techniques are generally pieces of information, which ACEC/MD uses for record-keeping purposes and which the Website may transfer to us and/or your computer’s Web-browser for storage on our server(s) or your computer. Cookies and other related techniques enable ACEC/MD to manage and/or customize your experience on the Website. Cookies and other related techniques also make Web-surfing or site review easier by automatically performing certain functions such as saving your personal preferences and by providing targeted content. ACEC/MD, however, will not use cookies to record passwords or credit card or other financial information.

Many consider the use of cookies and such identifiers to be an industry standard measure. Consequently, your Web browser is likely set to accept cookies or allow other identifiers. If you would prefer not to receive cookies or allow identifiers, however, you can alter the configuration of your browser to refuse cookies or surf anonymously. If you choose to have your browser refuse cookies or surf anonymously, you should understand that it is possible that some areas of our Website will not function properly when you view them.

5. External or Third Party Websites. To the extent hyperlinks or gateways are utilized to access external or third party sites or social media networks, including, but not limited to, Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter, and You Tube you should be aware that these external or third party sites or networks may collect information and are not controlled by ACEC/MD and therefore, are not subject to this Privacy Policy. ACEC/MD suggests that you check the privacy policies of these sites or networks to determine how the proprietors of these third party sites will utilize your information.

Thesewebsites also include social media features.  These features may collect information from you, such as which page you are visiting on the Website, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly.  Social media features are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly on the Website. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the entity providing it.

6. Collection of Information by Third-Party Websites. We sometimes may offer content (e.g., educational material or event promotion) that is sponsored by or co-branded with an identified third party. In these instances, the third party may obtain information that you voluntarily submit to participate in a Website activity. We have no control over the third party’s use of this information. The Website will notify you at the time of information collection if a third party will obtain such information.
7. Your Choices.We may use the information we collect from you to provide you with opportunities to offer you information, programs, or services that may be of interest to you. ACEC/MD makes its conference attendee, and some webcast registrant lists available to other reputable organizations whose products or offerings may be of interest to the ACEC/MD community. If you would like to opt out of receiving these materials (electronic or hard copy), you may contact ACEC/MD by email at acecmd@acecmd.org or by following the unsubscribe instructions of the communication received.
8. Data Security. We have implemented commercially reasonable technical and organizational security measures to protect information submitted to us and under our control against accidental loss, unauthorized access, misuse, disclosure or alteration. Please be aware, however, that no method of data transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic data storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, while we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee the absolute security, integrity, and privacy of any or all information exchanged between you and us through the Website. We make no warranty, express, implied or otherwise, that we will prevent unauthorized access to or use of your information.
9. Data Retention.ACEC/MD retains personal information you provide to create your account for as long as you maintain an account with us. Personal information used to provide the services to you will be kept long enough to provide you with the service, including in archives and logs used to maintain and develop the service. Specifically, we delete data used for logging and error tracking after 90 days, we reset cookies on our website after 14 days, and for other data used to provide the service, communicate with you, or offer other ACEC/MD services to you we will delete personal data within 30 days after your account is deleted if we determine that the information is no longer needed to support ACEC/MD’s services.
10. Governing Law. This Privacy Policy shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland. The Website and the servers that host the Website are located in the United States. Any information you provide will be transferred to the United States. By visiting and using the Website and submitting information thereto, you therefore authorize this transfer of your information to the United States. If any part of this Privacy Policy is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law, then the invalid or unenforceable provision or part will be deemed suspended by a valid, enforceable, provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision or part and the remainder of this Privacy Policy shall continue in full force and effect.
11. Contacting Us. Comments or questions can be directed to ACEC/MD by using our contact information. You may contact us at:acecmd@acecmd.org or 410-539-1592.