NJBIA’s Siekerka Presents National Manufacturing Leadership Award
NJBIA President & CEO Michele Siekerka, who also chairs the Conference of State Manufacturers Associations, presented the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry with COSMA’s 2026 Leadership Award at the conference’s annual meeting this week.
The award recognizes an association for its outstanding advocacy, organizational excellence, innovation, industry promotion, and growth over the previous year.
The Arizona chamber received the award for successfully working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to secure regulatory relief for the Phoenix-Mesa area, where manufacturers faced stricter air quality requirements because of pollution drifting in from outside the region.
“The Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry has blazed a trail for all manufacturers by helping the EPA align federal policy with scientific reality and pragmatic solutions,” Siekerka said. “Thanks to their leadership, manufacturers in other states have a replicable playbook for collaborative and effective advocacy.”
COSMA’s members serve as official state partners of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), focusing on manufacturing priorities at the state level, while elevating federal policy from the ground up in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
NAM President & CEO Jay Timmon said Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry President and CEO Danny Seiden “exemplifies the best of manufacturing association leadership in the United States.”
“By leading with integrity, focusing on bipartisan solutions and delivering an impact across our sector and the communities we serve, Danny has earned wide respect not only from the business community but lawmakers of both parties and at all levels,” Timmons said.
A selection committee comprised of previous honorees reviews submissions from within COSMA’s membership and selected the winner for work in advocacy, organizational excellence, innovation, industry promotion and growth over the previous year. The award was presented Tuesday at the conference’s 2026 meeting in Colorado Springs.
“We’re grateful to COSMA and the NAM for this recognition,” Seiden said. “It means even more coming from organizations that understand the work it takes to support a strong manufacturing sector.”
