This year, ISSA launched a new initiative to strengthen the advocacy for the cleaning and facility-solutions industry. The ISSA State Advocacy Leaders program is intended to further engage even more ISSA members in advocacy to further impact state and federal legislation important to the industry.

In 2024, the inaugural ISSA State Advocacy Leaders advanced the industry through “grasstops” advocacy including, for example:

• Meeting with their congressional delegation and state elected officials
• Participating in a local townhall meeting hosted by their U.S. representative
• Securing congressional sponsorship of priority ISSA legislation
• Providing boots-on-the-ground feedback to inform ISSA advocacy
• Hosting their state senator at their place of business

“This past year, ISSA expanded its grassroots advocacy through our new State Advocacy Leaders program,” said ISSA Senior Government Affairs Manager Stacy Seiden. “We thank our inaugural State Advocacy Leaders for stepping up as industry leaders and taking an active role to make a difference for our industry. And we look forward to increasing the number of State Advocacy Leaders and the level of their advocacy engagement in the new year.”

Following are the 20 current ISSA State Advocacy Leaders:

• Alan Applebaum, Director of Operations, Jack Laurie Group (Indiana)
• Jody Carroll, CEO, PowerX3 Property Maintenance Services (Pennsylvania)
• Stacey Conkle, Founder & CEO, A Beautiful Day Cleaning (Arkansas)
• Heather East, Director of Marketing & Communications, Grand Rapids Building Services (Michigan)
• Steve Eichman, Facilities Manager, West Allis-West Milwaukee School District (Wisconsin)
• Kimberly Goldberg, Key Account Director, Diversey- A Solenis Company (California)
• Tricia Holderman, CEO, Elite Facility Systems (Texas)
• Kory Kinney, Senior Strategy Manager – Americas, Nilfisk (Minnesota)
• Natasha Magrath, Owner, You’ve Got Maids of Northern Virginia (Virginia)
• Joe Pereira, President, Integrity Maintenance Solutions (California)
• James Purcell, President & CEO, Products Chemical Company (Texas)
• Stephanie Ramsey, Owner, Simply Maid OK! (Oklahoma)
• Adam Stathakis, Director of Operations, Stathakis (Michigan)
• Mary Stieger, Marketing Manager, Hospeco Brands Group (Ohio)
• Luiz Thomaz DaCosta, CEO, Modular Concepts (Massachusetts)
• Susanne Trotta, Director of Sales, Imperial Dade (Massachusetts)
• Bre Tschilar, Owner, Cleaning’s A Breeze (Alaska)
• Meredith VanDoren, CEO, CCI Efficiency Solutions (Washington)
• Iris Verdi (Delaware)
• Veronica Vidal, CEO, CCMS (Florida)

State Advocacy Leaders must be ISSA members in good standing in the United States, who have shown a strong interest in advocating for the industry.

“Being a State Advocacy Leader is an important opportunity for me to be part of a transformative initiative in the cleaning industry,” said ISSA State Advocacy Leader Natasha Magrath, Owner of You’ve Got Maids of Northern Virginia. “I’m honored to commit to leading positive changes in public policies and what is best for my industry and for all my colleagues. The critical issues in our industry at the state and national levels are very significant and we need to address them with collective action in 2025.”

“Our State Advocacy Leaders are more important than ever following the 2024 elections and with the soon-to-be swearing in of new state governors and state legislators, as well as with a new Congress and administration in 2025,” said ISSA Director of Government Affairs John Nothdurft. “ISSA State Advocacy Leaders will play a vital role in introducing our newly elected officials to the cleaning and facility-solutions industry, serving as an industry resource for them, and highlighting the significance of our industry to our nation’s health and economy.”

Interested in serving as an ISSA State Advocacy Leader? Learn more about the program and contact ISSA’s Stacy Seiden for more information.