Security Industry Association Announces 2025 Winners for the 25 on the RISE Awards

This award program, presented by SIA’s RISE community, recognizes 25 new and emerging leaders each year for their impact in advancing the security industry.

SILVER SPRING, Md.—The Security Industry Association (SIA) has revealed the honorees for the third annual 25 on the RISE Awards—a program presented by SIA’s RISE community for emerging security leaders and generously sponsored by Brivo, Genetec, Grid Squared and HID. This initiative honors 25 security leaders of today and tomorrow for their impactful contributions to advancing the security industry The 2025 class of awardees will be honored during a special award ceremony at Securing New Ground (SNG), taking place Oct. 14–15 in New York City.

SIA 25 on the RISE Awards nominations were open to security industry professionals who are under 40 or who have less than two years of experience in the industry. This year’s 25 on the RISE honorees, recognized across six award categories, are:

Branding

Awarded to individuals who excel in content creation and authentic personal branding to build a unique value proposition and gain influence for themselves and/or their companies

• Benji Bolick, senior channel sales manager, LenelS2
• Kelsey Carnell, regional sales manager, Axis Communications
• Anna Hoang, national sales manager, Chamberlain Group
• Chloe MacGregor, social media manager, HID
• Vinny Peone, director of marketing, Eastern Security Services

Culture

Awarded to individuals who are committed to elevating diversity, equity and inclusion and/or corporate social responsibility by creating impactful change within the security industry

• Ghaida Alkhateeb, security area manager, Amazon
• Robbie Jefcoat, director of customer success, BadgePass
• Sahiti Ravi, senior project engineer, dormakaba

Frontline

Awarded to individuals actively and physically in the field who are going above and beyond to provide customer service/installation in the security industry

• Robert Griggs, solutions engineering manager, YourSix
• Andrew Kowitt, director of operations, Grid Squared Systems

Growth

Awarded to individuals who have made significant progress towards developing, implementing and streamlining business-related programs to create a competitive advantage and achieve success

• Phillip Heaton, commercial success manager, YourSix
• Bethany Kline, project leader, M.C. Dean
• Trent Kyle, service sales enablement and training manager, Convergint
• Ella Ortenberg, revenue strategist, HiveWatch

Innovation

Awarded to individuals who demonstrate thought leadership surrounding new technology and reimagine traditional approaches to strategic management

• Rachel Brooks-Bitterli, program manager, special projects and investigations, Amazon
• Sarah Cassway, systems engineer, M.C. Dean
• Matthew Netardus, global senior product manager, access control, Hanwha Vision
• Rachael Paskvan, senior manager, executive protection and event security, Abercrombie & Fitch
• Karlie Turner, digital marketing specialist, Swell Marketing, PSA

Leadership

Awarded to individuals in management who possess outstanding leadership qualities and set an example for others to follow

• Mohssine Affane, digital marketing senior manager, dormakaba
• Kelly Cohan, senior manager, partner field marketing, Brivo
• Michael Niola, principal and co-founder, The Consulting Group
• Shakirra Patel, regional director, global accounts, Europe, Convergint
• Michelle Quinn, finance director, HID
• Tre Washington, CEO, Integrated Information Systems

“This year’s 25 on the RISE program had an impressive candidate pool, and we are proud to recognize these 25 accomplished and inspiring young leaders in our industry,” said SIA CEO Don Erickson. “The 2025 awardees are driving change and transforming security in the areas of innovation, branding, culture, growth, customer service and more, both within their organizations and across the industry. We are thankful to the 2025 sponsors—Brivo, Genetec, Grid Squared and HID—for their generous support of this program and for their commitment to advancing the growth of our industry’s emerging leaders, and we look forward to celebrating the achievements of this outstanding class of honorees at SNG 2025.”

Learn more about the honorees here.

SNG, hosted by SIA, is the security industry’s executive conference, with the 2025 event taking place Oct. 14 –15 at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York City. Each year at SNG, the security industry gathers for top-level information sharing, networking and business analysis. The 2025 conference program will explore the most current and cutting-edge issues, like how top security leaders are navigating a new era, the state of the security integrator and how tomorrow’s tech advancements will change your business; share investment insights for the security industry; showcase in-depth one-to-one interviews with top executives in the industry; and foster new connections through interactive sessions and dynamic roundtable discussions. Learn more and register to attend here.

SIA RISE is a community that fosters the careers of young professionals and emerging leaders in the security industry. In addition to the 25 on the RISE program, SIA RISE’s offerings include an annual scholarship to further professionals’ and students’ education and career goals, fun in-person and virtual networking events for young professionals, the Talent Inclusion Mentorship Education (TIME) program for early and mid-career professionals, career growth webinars and trade show education tracks and the annual AcceleRISE conference – an essential experienced designed to ignite new thinking, strengthen leadership and sharpen business acumen in young security talent. The SIA RISE community is open to all employees at SIA member companies who are young professionals under 40 or have been in the security industry for less than two years; learn more and sign up to join.  

About SIA

SIA is the leading trade association for global security solution providers, with over 1,600 innovative member companies representing thousands of security leaders and experts who shape the future of the security industry. SIA protects and advances its members’ interests by advocating pro-industry policies and legislation at the federal and state levels, creating open industry standards that enable integration, advancing industry professionalism through education and training, opening global market opportunities and collaborating with other like-minded organizations. As the premier sponsor of ISC Events expos and conferences, SIA ensures its members have access to top-level buyers and influencers, as well as unparalleled learning and network opportunities. SIA also enhances the position of its members in the security marketplace through SIA GovSummit, which brings together private industry with government decision makers, and Securing New Ground, the security industry’s top executive conference for peer-to-peer networking.