Chamber Business NewsThe Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry has been named the recipient of the 2026 Conference of State Manufacturers Associations Leadership Award, a national honor recognizing work on behalf of the manufacturing sector.
The National Association of Manufacturers announced the award this week during COSMA’s annual meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
COSMA members serve as the NAM’s official state partners, representing manufacturing priorities at the state level while helping elevate federal policy issues from across the country. A selection committee made up of previous award recipients evaluates nominees based on advocacy, organizational excellence, innovation, industry promotion and growth.
The Arizona Chamber was selected in part for its work on a first-in-the-nation federal air-quality policy outcome affecting the Phoenix-Mesa region.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved Arizona’s Clean Air Act Section 179B demonstration, preventing the region from being reclassified to “Serious” ozone nonattainment based on pollution originating largely outside the state’s control.
The Chamber and Arizona Manufacturers Council had spent years advocating for the change alongside state, regional and federal partners. The decision spared manufacturers and other employers from additional permitting requirements, emissions-offset mandates and other regulatory costs that would not have addressed the primary sources of the region’s ozone levels.
“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,” said Michele Siekerka, president and CEO of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association and COSMA chair.
Siekerka said the Arizona effort provides other states with “a replicable playbook for collaborative and effective advocacy.”
NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons also cited Arizona Chamber President and CEO Danny Seiden’s bipartisan approach and broader advocacy on behalf of manufacturers.
“Danny Seiden exemplifies the best of manufacturing association leadership in the United States,” Timmons said. “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 manufacturers and families across Arizona benefit from Seiden’s “care, drive and stewardship,” adding that the NAM was proud to recognize his advocacy.
Seiden said the award reflects the work of the Chamber’s staff, members and partner organizations across a range of policy and economic-development priorities.
“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.”
He said the Chamber’s efforts have included work on federal air-quality policy, building public support for new investment and advancing the infrastructure needed to support Arizona’s continued economic growth.
“This award reflects the effort of our entire team, our members and the partners who have worked alongside us,” Seiden said.
The Arizona Chamber works with the Arizona Manufacturers Council to advocate for policies affecting manufacturers across the state, including regulatory, workforce, infrastructure and economic-development issues.
Madeline Mitchell
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