SIA announces 2024 SIA Excellence in Government Service Award winners

SILVER SPRING, Md. – The Security Industry Association (SIA) has selected two government security leaders – Daryle Hernandez and Arun Vemury – to each receive a 2024 SIA Excellence in Government Service Award.

This award, presented at SIA GovSummit, the nation’s premier conference connecting government, security and technology, honors public servants who have demonstrated extensive leadership and a steady commitment to supporting and advancing the effective use of security and life safety products in ways that benefit society.

Daryle Hernandez serves as the director of the Interagency Security Committee (ISC) located in the Infrastructure Protection Division at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). In this role, he is responsible for enhancing the quality and effectiveness of security in and the protection of buildings and nonmilitary federal facilities in the United States, with the chief security officers and other senior executives from 60 federal agencies and departments that make up the ISC.

Prior to his time at CISA, Hernandez was an interagency senior advisor with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and earlier he led the Department of the Army’s protection office and was responsible for protecting a workforce of 1 million located on over 100 federal installations and in 6,000 separate standalone facilities.

He has spoken at SIA events, including this year’s SIA GovSummit conference, on key issues in government security. Hernandez is an experienced protection and security professional with over 25 years of organizational leadership. His formal education includes a master’s degree in political science from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the Army War College.

“Daryle Hernandez’s leadership has been essential to driving the formulation and adoption of ISC guidelines and recommendations across federal agencies, regarding implementation of standards regarding physical access control systems and others,” said SIA CEO Don Erickson. “We also deeply appreciate his wealth of experience and, in particular, his support of SIA and our events through ISC conferences, the annual SIA GovSummit and other engagements over many years.”

Arun Vemury serves as senior advisor for the Biometric and Identity Technology Center within the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). He oversees a portfolio of innovative projects for DHS S&T and the department’s mission components in Customs and Border Protection, the Transportation Security Administration and elsewhere.

Under Vemury’s leadership, DHS S&T launched a series of biometric technology rallies to provide a collaborative and innovative framework for technology providers to have their products tested in DHS operational settings. He has received multiple government awards for his contributions in the development of the department’s biometric entry/exit system.

Prior to joining DHS, Vemury was a government contractor supporting biometrics and identity management projects. He completed his undergraduate work in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Maryland and his graduate degree in computer engineering at the George Washington University. He has presented at SIA events and has co-authored multiple technical articles on various aspects of biometric technologies.

“We deeply appreciate Arun Vemury’s leadership in leveraging industry capabilities to support the homeland security enterprise and the world-leading research at the Biometric and Identity Technology Center and his longstanding and consistent support for SIA events and programs promoting the effective use advanced technologies though speaking roles and other valuable engagements with our members,” said SIA CEO Don Erickson. “We are grateful to him for always being always available to consider industry stakeholders’ input, suggestions and concerns and provide insight on DHS’ most challenging problems and solutions needed across complex policy, legal and operational landscapes.”

The 2024 SIA Excellence in Government Service Awards will be presented May 21 at a special award ceremony during SIA GovSummit. Each year, SIA GovSummit brings together government security leaders with private industry technologists for top-quality information sharing, networking and education on security topics affecting federal, state and local agencies.

SIA GovSummit 2024 will be held May 21-22 in downtown Washington, D.C. In addition to featuring a cadre of security industry speakers, the 2024 SIA GovSummit will include insights from experts at DHS, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Protective Service, the General Services Administration, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and more.

The event is free for all government employees, including U.S. and international federal, state, county and municipal-level staff, plus all military, law enforcement and public safety personnel. SIA GovSummit is considered a “widely attended gathering” and complies with all relevant event guidelines. Space is limited and filling up quickly; register to attend here.