Ronald Hawkins
Senior Director of Industry Relations

Ron is the senior director of industry relations for the Security Industry Association (SIA). His primary responsibilities include serving as the staff liaison for member groups focused on artificial intelligence, data centers and data privacy, as well as the Executive Advisory Board and the Veterans in Security community; serving as editor of SIA Technology Insights; and managing the production of research projects: He represents SIA on the International Association of Chiefs of Police Private Sector Liaison Section.

Before joining SIA as manager of communications in 2008, Ron worked as a reporter and then editorial page editor for Potomac News, a daily newspaper in northern Virginia, then as an associate with Lussier, Gregor, Vienna & Associates, a federal government affairs firm near Washington, D.C.

Ron, a native of Maine, holds a master’s degree in journalism and public affairs from The American University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Bates College. In 2025, he retired as a senior master sergeant after 20 years in the Air National Guard that included deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Overseeing production of industry research
• Managing SIA’s AI Advisory Board, Data Center Advisory Board, Data Privacy Advisory Board, Executive Advisory Board, and Veterans in Security community
• Serving as editor of SIA Technology Insights