Industry Advocate Award

Recognizing Leadership in Public Policy

About the Industry Advocate Award

SIA's Industry Advocate Award, formerly the SIA Statesman Award, is presented to individuals making an extraordinary contribution of professional time, leadership and resources to position SIA and its members to address public policies impacting the security industry.

2024 Industry Advocate Award Recipients: Leire Arbona Puértolas and Arielle Thomas

SIA has named Leire Arbona Puértolas and Arielle Thomas as as the 2024 recipients of the of the SIA Industry Advocate Award. Shoemaker and Starr were presented with the award at the 2024 SIA GovSummit conference in Washington, D.C.

Leire Arbona Puértolas serves as legal and compliance director for Veridas, providing expertise in biometric identity verification and data protection laws since joining the company in 2017. Arbona Puértolas’ efforts extend beyond corporate compliance; she actively contributes to the legislative process in various countries, advising on laws that shape the future of digital identity verification. Arbona Puértolas has played a crucial role in legislative developments in Spain and the European Union, and her expertise is frequently sought in international forums on privacy, biometrics and identity management. She holds dual degrees in law and business administration from the Public University of Navarre, Spain, bringing a unique blend of legal insight and business acumen to her role at Veridas. Furthermore, she firmly believes in the necessity of deep technical knowledge to create coherent and updated laws.

Arielle Thomas serves as a government relations manager on NEC Corporation of America’s Government Relations and Public Policy team. In this role, she manages relationships with elected officials and staff in the U.S. Congress, in addition to tracking relevant legislation and policy developments at the federal and state levels that could impact NEC businesses, technologies and services. Before joining NEC, Thomas worked at the Greater Washington Partnership, a regional business organization, where she focused on building relationships with governmental and business leaders across Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Prior to this role, she was on the government affairs team at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation, for over half a decade, where she led the Chamber’s cybersecurity lobbying engagement with the U.S. Congress. Thomas earned a B.A. in international studies from American University, with a primary focus in U.S. foreign policy and national security, in addition to a special certificate in advanced leadership studies. She is also very active with the Women in Government Relations organization, where she co-chairs the Telecommunications, Technology and Intellectual Property Task Force.

[View the full press release.]

Previous SIA Industry Advocate Award Recipients

  • 2023: Lisa Shoemaker and Matthew Starr
  • 2022: Joseph Hogan and David Ray
  • 2021: Gabrielle Shea
  • 2019: Wayne Esser and Dhira Gregory
  • 2018: Rob Reiter
  • 2017: Teresa Wu and Holly Borgmann
  • 2016: Anthony Incorvati
  • 2015: Paul Shomburg
  • 2014: Shene Commodore and John Convy
  • 2013: Libby Elliott
  • 2012: Craig Sharman
  • 2011: John Romanowich
  • 2009: Jay Hauhn
  • 2008: Scott Boylan, Roger Roehr and Rob Zivney
  • 2007: Kathleen Carroll
  • 2006: Lynn de Seve and Jim Gingo