2025 SNIA Member Recognition Honorees
We could not do the work of SNIA without our passionate and dedicated volunteers. We are pleased to recognize the following honorees in two unique categories. Honorees are selected by SNIA members via an anonymous survey. The first set of awards are individuals who made significant contributions to SNIA. The second set of awards are group awards which recognize a Community or Technical Work Group.
(as announced January 14, 2026)
Individual Awards
Dave Landsman, Western Digital
Volunteer of the Year
The individual whose consistent contributions during the previous year have furthered the work of an existing program.
Curtis Ballard, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
Exceptional Leadership
The individual(s) who has provided outstanding leadership to advance a cause for SNIA leading to an impact on the industry or the Association.
Tom Palkert, Samtec
Unsung Hero
An individual who continually worked tirelessly under the radar expecting no accolades or attention but who in fact probably deserves more than the rest.
David Thiel, Industry Consultant
Unsung Hero
An individual who continually worked tirelessly under the radar expecting no accolades or attention but who in fact probably deserves more than the rest.
Adam Gray, IBM
New Contributor of the Year
Individual who contributed to a new area or program. This individual has begun contributing in a different area than they have been contributing to.
Erik Smith, Dell Technologies
Excellence in Education
SNIA recognizes volunteers whose commitment and contributions to SNIA Education during the previous year have furthered SNIA’s mission to lead the storage industry worldwide in developing and promoting vendor-neutral education on networking and storage technologies.
Group Awards
SNIA GROUP OF THE YEAR:
SDC Agenda Team
SIGNIFICANT IMPACT BY A PREVIOUSLY EXISTING TECHNICAL WORK GROUP (TWG) OR TASK FORCE:
StorageAI Task Force