AUGUST 7TH, 2025 – Wisconsin Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez was appointed by her peers to the leadership board of the new State Strategies Committee on Aerospace at the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA).
The NLGA Aerospace Committee was created in April 2025 to advance aerospace, aviation, and defense policy in the states and territories. Lt. Governor Rodriguez was appointed to the six-member leadership board of the Aerospace Committee at the NLGA Annual Meeting in July 2025.
“Wisconsin is a national leader in advanced manufacturing, supported by a highly skilled workforce that drives aviation and aerospace innovation at the state and national levels,” said Lt. Governor Rodriguez. “With cutting-edge research and development in both our industry and world-class universities, I look forward to sharing out state’s pivotal role in the aerospace and aviation supply chain while bringing others’ best practices back to Wisconsin.”
The NLGA Aerospace Committee is bipartisanly comprised of NLGA Members (lieutenant governors and seconds-in-command) and their public and government sector appointee(s), up to two appointees per state/territory. The Committee will be led by the six lieutenant governors on the bipartisan Board: Alabama Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth, Wisconsin Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez, Utah Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson, Maryland Lt. Governor Aruna Miller, Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, and North Carolina Lt. Governor Rachel Hunt. The Aerospace Committee will hold its first convening October 20-21, 2025, in Salt Lake City, Utah, with additional virtual and in-person convenings to be planned.
The aerospace and defense industry supports communities in all 50 states, employing more than 2.2 million people across the country and bringing in almost $19 billion in state and local tax receipts (Aerospace Industries Association, 2023). Aerospace, aviation, and defense are rapidly evolving industries that present dynamic challenges and opportunities that can benefit from strong state-to-state collaboration. States and territories are instrumental in advancing aerospace by shaping policy, enacting legislation, and fostering partnerships across key areas such as workforce development, economic growth, supply chain resilience, manufacturing and production, defense communities, research and innovation, regulatory frameworks, and more.
Members of NLGA are the lieutenant governors and seconds-in-command in the 55 U.S. states and territories. NLGA Members serve important roles in the executive and legislative branches and help steer state/territorial government through their constitutional and statutory duties, as well as through personal initiatives and governors’ assignments. Several lieutenant governors serve in leadership roles shaping policies that impact the aerospace, aviation, and defense industries.
NLGA is the nonpartisan, nonprofit, professional association for the lieutenant governors and officials second-in-line to governors in the 55 states and territories. More information on the NLGA State Strategies Committee on Aerospace is available at: https://nlga.us/strategies/nlga-aerospace-committee.
