The Security Industry Association (SIA) has named Dakota Mackie and John Nemerofsky as the 2026 recipients of the SIA Chair’s Award, an award presented annually and selected by SIA’s Board of Directors chair recognizing SIA members’ diligent efforts in furthering the association’s mission and commitment to its future. SIA will present Mackie and Nemerofsky with their awards at The Advance, SIA’s annual membership meeting, which will be held March 24 during ISC West.

Dakota Mackie is the business development and marketing manager at Northland Controls, where she plays a strategic role in driving growth across sales and marketing initiatives, with a focus on relationship-driven strategy and managed services. With a cross-functional background spanning content marketing, business development and relationship management, she is known for connecting people, ideas and strategy to deliver meaningful business outcomes. Mackie is passionate about mentoring emerging leaders, fostering connection across the industry and advancing its future. 

From 2024 to 2025, Mackie served as chair of SIA RISE, a community that fosters the careers of young professionals and emerging leaders in the security industry, leading the delivery of educational content and networking opportunities to young professional employees and rising stars at SIA member companies, college students and recent graduates interested in the global security industry. During her time as chair, Mackie established the RISE Resources initiative, which shares expert insights on a wide range of career and technical topics; led three terms of new RISE Steering Committee members; oversaw the growth of the SIA RISE Scholarship program from 17 to 23 scholarships annually (a $18,000 growth), brought organization and content to the forefront in the quarterly RISE Together newsletter, bolstered the efforts of RISE’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee through her dedication to making RISE an inclusive place for all; participated in and oversaw the growth of the Talent Inclusion Mentorship Education (TIME) program; and took an active role in the creation of the 25 on the RISE awards program recognizing outstanding contributions by rising stars in the security industry. Outside of her work with RISE, Mackie has been honored as a two-time SIA Women in Security Forum Power 100 honoree.

“Serving on the SIA RISE Committee, and engaging with broader SIA initiatives, has given me the opportunity to give back to a community that I am so deeply passionate about,” Mackie said. “During my time with RISE, we focused on developing impactful programs, supporting the growth of our young professionals and creating connections that will continue to influence the next generation of industry leaders. Accepting this award as a reflection of our collective work is truly an honor.”

John Nemerofsky has dedicated his 30-year career in the security industry to advancing the innovation and integration of security technology, protecting the people, facilities and reputation of enterprise clients nationwide. As a trailblazer in security integration, he is shaping the future, safeguarding enterprises and inspiring the next generation of security professionals. In 2019, Nemerofsky assumed the role of chief operating officer at SAGE Integration, a national security integration provider operating across 62 major U.S. metro areas and boasting a team of over 19,000 installer partner specialists. Under Nemerofsky’s strategic guidance, the company has become a formidable force in the security industry. His success in corporate and entrepreneurial environments underscores his versatility and business acumen in helping companies succeed. During his tenure at Niscayah —now Stanley Security Systems — Nemerofsky was instrumental in the organization’s growth to over $1 billion in revenue.

Recognized for his outstanding industry contributions, Nemerofsky was awarded the PSA Captains, Hang 10 and High Ride awards at the PSA Convention in 2023. He also received SIA’s Sandy Jones Volunteer of the Year Award and the George R. Lippert Memorial Award, an honor presented annually to a distinguished individual for long-term, selfless service to the security industry and SIA. He is a proud graduate of Temple University’s Fox School of Business and serves on the board of Mission 500.

Nemerofsky serves as treasurer on the SIA Board of Directors, is co-chair of SIA’s Member Engagement and Experience Committee and serves on the SIA Endowment Committee, Executive Committee and Women in Security Forum Charitable Giving Subcommittee. As chair for the Foundation for Advancing Security Talent (FAST) since 2024, he is committed to nurturing the next generation of security professionals. Nemerofsky’s volunteer leadership extends to his championing of SIA’s training, certification and standards programs, including SIA Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP), the Security Project Management training and the Certified Security Project Management (CSPM) certification program. He has served as a TIME mentor; ensured that all SAGE’s project managers are CSPM certified; been a strong advocate for the SICC program at SAGE and across the industry; supported SIA events, scholarships and other offerings; and encouraged his team’s active involvement in programs like Securing New Ground (SNG) and the SIA Human Resources Working Group. Notable for his industry contributions, Nemerofsky has been honored with a number of prestigious awards and is a frequent speaker at SIA events, including delivering sessions at ISC West and SNG and presenting the Security Technician of the Year Awards at ISC East.

“I am deeply honored to receive the 2026 SIA Chair’s Award,” Nemerofsky said. “My work with SIA and FAST has been one of the most meaningful chapters of my professional journey, giving me the opportunity to collaborate with exceptional leaders and contribute to initiatives that strengthen and elevate our industry.This recognition reflects the shared commitment, mentorship and partnership of so many colleagues who inspire me every day. I am sincerely grateful for the trust placed in me and look forward to continuing our collective efforts to advance the security industry and support its future leaders.”

SIA Board of Directors Chair Scott Dunn added, “Dakota Mackie and John Nemerofsky are inspiring leaders in our industry who have made many valuable contributions to SIA and the broader industry through their leadership, vision and dedication to advancing SIA’s programs, committees, communities and initiatives. In her time as RISE chair, Dakota continuously led with compassion and championed a people-first culture, believing that strong leadership starts with empathy, trust and inclusion and setting the tone for how RISE shows up for its members and future leaders. As a SIA Board of Directors and Executive Committee member and longtime volunteer with our association, John exemplifies innovation, business expertise and leadership and has been instrumental to the success of the work of SIA, FAST, other industry programs and initiatives and in the community. He is always willing to support SIA in any way possible and has never hesitated to offer his knowledge, time and support to SIA’s initiatives. We applaud Dakota and John for their many accomplishments and look forward to recognizing them with the 2026 SIA Chair’s Award at ISC West.”