Head to the Hill Event Details

• Registration closed April 11. Email advocacy@braintumor.org to inquire about late registration.

The hotel block at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center has closed. You may reserve lodging outside of the block or at a nearby hotel.

Washington Marriott at Metro Center
775 12th St NW, Washington, DC 20005

Getting There:

• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) – 5 Miles
• Dulles International Airport (IAD) – 28.5 Miles
• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Airport (BWI) – 35.2 Miles
• Union Station – 1.2 Miles

Yes, valet parking is available for $65 per day.

The Washington Marriott at Metro Center is 1.5 miles from Capitol Hill. NBTS will provide metro cards to participants to utilize public transportation, and individuals may request accessible transportation by emailing advocacy@braintumor.org to organize a ride to Capitol Hill. 

Participants can also request a wheelchair-accessible taxi while in Washington, D.C. (https://ohr.dc.gov/taxis/request). We offer use of a mobility scooter for free, which we will have available Sunday evening through Tuesday evening. You can sign up during registration or email advocacy@braintumor.org.

There is very limited parking available on Capitol Hill. If you are driving, we encourage you to park at Union Station and walk to Capitol Hill.

Advocates can dress casually for the Welcome Reception on Sunday, May 4 and the in-person training on May 5. For the day of congressional meetings on May 6, please wear your Head to the Hill t-shirt – which you will receive on May 5 – and business casual slacks or skirt. Wear comfortable shoes on May 6, as getting around Capitol Hill can require a lot of walking.

Head to the Hill in May is an in-person event. If you are unable to attend, we will post a virtual action alert so you can send your legislators an identical message to the one advocates are delivering on Capitol Hill on May 6. We’ll also have a second opportunity to virtually meet with your legislators this fall during Advocate From Your State. If you have registered for Head to the Hill and can no longer attend in person in Washington, D.C., please contact us as early as possible at advocacy@braintumor.org.

Please join us on Sunday, May 4, between 3 – 6 p.m. for a relaxed reception to gather together with the brain tumor community and connect with NBTS staff while learning more about our programs after an energizing Race for Hope DC experience earlier in the day. The reception will feature a relaxed program and a chance to visit with volunteers from across the country while enjoying appetizers and drinks at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center.

All scholarships for Head to the Hill have been awarded. Thank you to two generous philanthropic partners that provided funding to support scholarships for Head to the Hill:

• The Arun Anantharaman Memorial Scholarship established by the Arun Family.
• In memory of Debbi Schaubman, by her loving sister.

Yes, anyone planning to participate in congressional meetings must register separately using a unique email address. Congressional offices require a list of everyone attending, including children. If you are a parent to young kids without email addresses, please email us at advocacy@braintumor.org after registering yourself. 

Finally, each participant must register separately and attend the training on Monday, May 5, to receive a t-shirt.

NBTS will arrange all of your meetings with Advocacy Associates, a logistics firm that specializes in organizing the entirety of Hill Days, and will make every effort to secure appointments for you to meet with your two U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representative. If a Senator or Representative is unavailable, we will schedule the meeting with a staff member. 

Please note that staff meetings are just as important as meetings with the actual Senator or Representative! Staff members are key advisors to the lawmaker and often decide what information is passed on to your member of Congress. These staff members meet regularly with constituents as part of their job.

Your personal brain tumor story can make the difference between just another meeting and a meeting that results in action and support from your member of Congress.

• Head to the Hill meetings will be scheduled for May 6, 2025.
• Please do not set up your own appointments. If you have special contacts with members of Congress or their staff, please include that information in your registration or contact us at advocacy@braintumor.org.
• The process of how your meetings will be arranged is as follows:
  • Your home address will be used to match you with the appropriate Representative and Senators
  • You will then be grouped with other attendees according to district, state, then region if necessary
  • You will meet with the offices of Representatives and Senators where your home is located, and any relevant members of Congress that fall under the committees most pertinent to our legislative issues
  • You will have a total of 3-6 meetings
  • An email with instructions on how to download the Advocacy Associates mobile application and access your schedule will be sent roughly one week in advance. This email will provide you with:
    • Office name and bio
    • Time
    • Location
    • Who you are meeting with
    • Other attendees who will be in the meeting with you
    • Talking points and documents to reference
    • Contact information for scheduling support
• If you are the only advocate from your state, we will pair you with NBTS staff or experienced volunteers.
• Advocates are usually scheduled for three or more meetings, each about 15-30 minutes in duration. Meetings can take place between 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET at the offices of your Senators and Representative in Washington, D.C.
• You will have time to meet with your fellow advocates to prepare for your meetings during the training day on Monday, May 5.

Please email advocacy@braintumor.org with any questions.

Head to the Hill training prepares each advocate to share their experience with brain tumors most effectively, speak about NBTS’s legislative priorities, and highlight their efforts on social media. Additionally, the training will showcase ways that advocacy creates change, how past Head to the Hill participants have impacted public policies, and why it’s important to advocate for increased medical research funding.

Registered participants will receive more detailed information, access to online training aids, and an agenda closer to the event.

Meetings will be scheduled throughout the day on Tuesday, May 6. Nearly every meeting will take place that day between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET.

Your meeting schedule depends on when your congressional offices are available to meet. You will receive your schedule for your meetings via an email from Advocacy Associates containing instructions for downloading their mobile app approximately one week prior to Head to the Hill. The schedule is subject to change at any point until May 6. The schedules will be available on the app and will not be printed on paper.

Everyone will have at least one other person in the meeting with them. Participants will join other advocates from their state or NBTS staff and advocacy professionals who can help navigate the meetings.

Participants will have time during the training day on Monday, May 5, to meet in their state groups to prepare. For larger states, participants will meet with other advocates in their congressional district group.

Members of Congress make decisions largely because of the impact legislation will have on their constituents. Each year, we see the value of brain tumor advocates meeting directly with their members of Congress to highlight how these important issues affect members in their district or state.

• After Head to the Hill in May 2024, NBTS introduced brand new legislation – the BRAIN Act – on July 23, 2024 with support of legislators who met with advocates at Head to the Hill.  After virtual meetings at Advocate From Your State in September 2024, Congressional co-sponsorship more than doubled, and all of the new co-sponsors met with advocates during the event.
  
• Due to NBTS’s advocacy efforts in collaboration with the brain tumor community, NIH funding for brain tumor research increased by $20 million in 2023.

Advocates can inspire policymakers to take action on an important policy or issue affecting the brain tumor community.

Yes. To participate in meetings on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, May 6, all volunteers must also attend the in-person training at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center in Washington, D.C. from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Monday, May 5. On Tuesday, each participant will likely have three to five congressional meetings that will each be between 15-30 minutes long, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET. However, the exact time of these meetings will not be confirmed until the week before Head to the Hill, and all times are subject to change. Participants should be available to meet at any time between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., so please take this into account when making travel plans. If traveling by plane, please allow adequate time to travel from Capitol Hill to the airport. This will likely require a flight after 7 p.m. on Tuesday, or you may choose to depart on Wednesday.

Head to the Hill 2025 is our 15th annual Washington, D.C. advocacy event; it started in 2011 with 31 advocates going to Capitol Hill to share their stories with members of Congress. It has grown into NBTS’s marquee advocacy event, with hundreds of advocates coming together each year to make their voices heard and motivate policymakers to take action for the brain tumor community. Every spring, we welcome volunteers who join us for the first time or return each year to connect with other members of the brain tumor community in person and urge government officials to pass policies that support our vision of conquering and curing brain tumors — once and for all.

NBTS works to ensure that Head to the Hill — an in-person event — is accessible to members of the brain tumor community and that we responsibly use the funds raised by individuals like you in a way that most benefits patients with brain tumors and their families. This $25 registration fee helps cover some of the costs of meeting facilities, scheduling, and more, as well as supporting scholarships for advocates who otherwise could not travel to Head to the Hill.

• We understand that plans may change, so if you are unable to attend for any reason, you can cancel by Friday, April 25, and we will refund this fee. 
  
• Please note that for any cancellations or no-shows after April 25, the $25 fee is non-refundable.  If this registration fee would prohibit you from joining us in Washington, D.C., please contact us at advocacy@braintumor.org.

Yes! If you register for either of these two events, you’ll receive a 50% discount to register for the other. Questions? Email advocacy@braintumor.org