SIA to present Gabrielle Shea with 2021 SIA Industry Advocate Award

SILVER SPRING, Md.—The Security Industry Association (SIA) has named Gabrielle Shea – public policy manager, government relations and public policy at NEC Corporation of America – as the 2021 recipient of the SIA Industry Advocate Award, which recognizes leadership in public policy.

Shea will be presented with the award on Sept. 21 at Part 3 of the 2021 SIA GovSummit, SIA’s annual public policy and government security technology conference.

The SIA Industry Advocate Award – formerly the SIA Statesman Award – recognizes SIA member volunteers for their extraordinary contributions of professional time, leadership and resources to position SIA and its members to address the public policy challenges impacting the security industry. Throughout 2020 and 2021, Shea has supported SIA’s government relations efforts to advocate for responsible biometrics technology policy, including assisting with legislative analysis and drafting, contributing to SIA’s state government affairs initiatives and helping to represent SIA in meetings with legislators in state capitals across the United States.

“I am honored to receive the Industry Advocate Award,” Shea said. “Working with SIA and member companies to help develop and support policy initiatives that aim to simultaneously promote security, privacy, other civil rights and civil liberties and racial and broader social justice has truly been, and continues to be, a privilege.”

In her role at NEC Corporation of America, Shea helps develop internal initiatives to promote data privacy, artificial intelligence ethics and broader digital trust and helps manage related external engagements with federal, state and local governments. Shea holds a J.D. from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary and a B.A. in ethics and public policy with a minor in chemistry from Wake Forest University.

“SIA is proud to honor Gabrielle Shea as the 2021 SIA Industry Advocate Award winner – she has been an immense help to our government relations team in efforts to support responsible policy on biometrics technology, leveraging her legal expertise and assisting with strategy development and communications on key issues,” said Jake Parker, senior director of government relations at SIA. “We congratulate Gabrielle on her outstanding leadership and achievements and look forward to continuing to work with her in addressing the most critical issues impacting our members and security and safety overall.”

Each year, SIA GovSummit brings together government security leaders with private industry technologists for top-quality information sharing and education on security topics affecting federal, state and local agencies. Part 3 of the 2021 conference will be held as a full-day program on Tuesday, Sept. 21, kicking off at 11 a.m. EDT. Attendees will enjoy a keynote presentation from Dr. David Mussington – executive assistant director of the Infrastructure Security Division at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) – on security challenges and how we can address them as a nation. Additional session topics will include the latest on Federal Identity, Credential and Access Management, new technologies for securing government facilities and the role of safety and security solutions in infrastructure modernization.

In addition to presenting the SIA Industry Advocate Award, SIA will also present the 2021 Women in Biometrics Awards, a globally recognized program co-founded by SIA and SecureIDNews and co-presented with sponsors IDEMIA, Biometric Update and the SIA Women in Security Forum that recognizes innovative women creating a more secure world by guiding the biometrics technology market.

Part 3 of the 2021 GovSummit will take place as a hybrid conference, with attendees having the option to join in person or participate virtually via Zoom. The in-person component of the event will be held at SIA member company (and GovSummit sponsor) CertiPath’s facility at 1900 Reston Station Boulevard in Reston, Virginia. On-site attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a SIAThere! networking reception and can even schedule tours of the GSA testing lab, in addition to attending the full schedule of seminars. Health and safety precautions will be in place at the in-person event, including physical distancing, and attendees will be required to provide proof of full vaccination. Masking will be strongly encouraged indoors per recent recommendations from the Fairfax County Health Department.