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National Brain Tumor Society | Brain Tumor Investment Fund

Advocate From Your State:
A Virtual Head to the Hill

EVENT DETAILS

Building on the momentum of May’s in-person Head to the Hill, Advocate From Your State® meetings provide advocates with the opportunity to hold effective, meaningful conversations with members of Congress and their staff.

Each fall, the National Brain Tumor Society hosts a virtual advocacy event during which volunteer advocates meet virtually with members of Congress to share their stories and persuade representatives to make important decisions that impact our community. Advocate From Your State is a great opportunity for advocates to reconnect with members of Congress after meeting with them in person at Head to the Hill or to introduce themselves and advocate for a piece of legislation that will positively impact patients with brain tumors and their families now and in the future.

NBTS works with elected officials to schedule virtual advocate meetings between 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. in your time zone on the day of the event. Whether you are a seasoned advocate or are interested in participating for the first time, we equip all volunteers with the training and materials necessary for successful meetings.

During the 2025 Advocate From Your State event, 175 volunteers held 200 meetings with their members of Congress. These meetings focused on educating Congress about the experiences of people affected by brain tumors — as a patient or survivor, family member, care partner, friend, researcher, or medical provider — while securing support for the Bolstering Research And Innovation Now (BRAIN) Act, funding for medical research, and two bills focusing on improving treatment discovery and access to care (the Give Kids a Chance Act and the Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act).

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BRAIN ACT

Questions? You can contact our Government Relations & Advocacy Team at advocacy@braintumor.org.

I have participated in Head to the Hill and Advocate From Your State for three years and will continue to do so as long as I am able. Our message is so important and, especially in these trying times, it is crucial that we carry on in delivering our message to our elected officials for the benefit of all those now living with a brain tumor. We emphasized the non-political and nonpartisan importance of medical research, especially in the areas of brain tumor research.

Art Krueger

Event Details

Summer 2026Registration Opens
TBDRegistration Closes
2 weeks prior to event dateLive Webinar Training
Fall 2026Virtual Advocate From Your State Meetings (8 a.m. – 5 p.m. your time)
Please note: it is not possible to coordinate with each individual advocate’s schedule. Please set aside the entire day for your meetings to ensure your availability.

Logistics & FAQs

We will host a virtual training webinar 1-2 weeks prior to the Advocate From Your State meeting date.

Please try to attend so your questions can be answered live and so you may practice in your state groups. If you are unable to attend, a recording of the webinar will be sent to you shortly after via email.

Schedule: Two weeks before the event, registrants will receive an emailed link with their schedule from Advocacy Associates, along with instructions on how to navigate the web portal. 

All necessary materials (one-pagers, state fact sheets, etc.) will be available to view in the Advocacy Associates web portal. 

Meetings can change at the last minute on the Hill, so pay close attention to schedule updates from Advocacy Associates. If you are not able to attend, please let us know immediately, as we will be charged for “no-shows.”

Bring a photo of yourself or your loved one for whom you are advocating to share on camera in the group screenshot at the end of each of your meetings.

For the virtual meetings with Congress, you may wear an NBTS T-shirt from a previous in-person Head to the Hill event if you have one.

If you do not have an NBTS shirt, please wear a business casual shirt.

For all questions, please contact: Kacey Troy Ribnik: ktroy@braintumor.org

Stay Informed & Connected