When I started this blog series, I wasn’t sure how it would land. I just knew it needed to be written. Too many good people are showing up in policy spaces feeling frustrated, unheard, and exhausted. And I get it. These aren’t easy times.

In my final post of this series: Remember, if you want a seat at the table, don’t just knock on the door when it suits you. Stick around. Pay attention. Find ways to be helpful—even when it’s not your bill on the docket.

I’ve spent enough time in and around policymaking to know this: it’s not just what you say that matters—it’s who says it. I’ve seen lawmakers mentally check out of testimony—not because they disagreed with the message, but because the messenger didn’t carry the credibility or connection that earns their attention.

As a former Republican legislator, I sat through hundreds of policy pitches. And I can tell you this: data alone never closed the deal.

Often advocates' intentions are good—but they lose the room. Not because the lawmakers don’t care about the issue, but because the solution feels like exactly what they’ve been elected to resist: a big, expensive, centralized government fix.

If you’re not solving the same problem—or even agreeing on what the problem is—you’re not going to get traction, no matter how strong your proposal is.

Having been on the receiving end of countless advocacy pitches—and now helping others deliver them—I know what works and what doesn’t.

I’ve sat on both sides of the table—as the staffer drafting legislation, the lawmaker making tough budget decisions, and the local official navigating complex community needs.