Adriana Bankston is a Principal Legislative Analyst at the University of California Office of Federal Governmental Relations in Washington, DC, where she serves as an advocate for the university with Congress, the Administration and federal agencies. Previously, Adriana was a Policy & Advocacy Fellow at the Society for Neuroscience, where she provided staff support for special and on-going projects, including the society’s annual lobby event and the annual meeting. Dr. Bankston will discuss her career path from the bench to science policy, and describe her current role in government relations. She will share a few instances where advocacy can make an impact, and how she leveraged her passion for empowering early career scientists into a career in higher education policy. While telling her story, she will cover general skills needed to be successful in science policy careers, and avenues by which to develop these skills as a graduate student and beyond. Finally, she will highlight a number of science policy job titles, and the different sectors where these positions can be found.