For 20 years, I have worked with university faculty members, researchers, and policymakers. Most recently I have been supporting faculty members at tribal colleges to improve not only their teaching, but to become researchers and share their Indigenous-focused research with their peers and the larger research community. During most of my career, I worked to create more evidence-informed policymaking by helping researchers translate their research so that policymakers (and the public) can understand and act on it. I have decades of experience writing for and talking to policymakers, and creating nonpartisan programs, events, and communication strategies to close the research-policymaking divide. I have transformed journal articles and research reports into policymaker-friendly issue briefs, articles, and newsletters. I've planned and facilitated highly visible seminars, national conferences, and intimate policy discussions for elected officials and government leaders. I ran the numbers, and I have worked closely with more than 200 legislators and their staff, four governors and their staff, plus dozens of other state policymakers from across the country. I have worked with more than 150 researchers, mostly faculty members at large research universities and also think tank analysts, to effectively share their research and have an impact. I even helped conduct a study on when and how legislators use research. A highlight of my career is when a governor said to me, "Heidi, you're awesome," as we stepped into an elevator.