NASFAA Leadership & Legislative Conference & Expo participants are encouraged to participate in meetings with their respective delegations in the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill. Having financial aid professionals engage in personal interactions with members of Congress and staff delivers the on-the-ground perspectives necessary for policymakers to make informed decisions.
NASFAA is partnering with Advocacy Associates, a firm dedicated to providing scheduling and logistical support to associations hosting fly-in days in Washington, DC. Advocacy Associates will handle all scheduling logistics and deliver final schedules directly to NASFAA attendees who wish to participate in the optional Hill Day via a mobile device app. Please note that this is a change from previous years. NASFAA members interested in participating in the Hill Day are no longer responsible for scheduling their own meetings; Advocacy Associates will schedule all meetings for attendees.
Capitol Hill Day occur as the final, optional day of the NASFAA Leadership & Legislative Conference & Expo. Advocacy Associates schedule Hill meetings for NASFAA members who have indicated they’d like to participate.
Following the meetings, NASFAA staff will lead in-person, informal Hill Visit Office Hours. While this is optional, all conference registrants are welcome to stop by during this window and share any relevant feedback or insights relating to the Hill meetings with NASFAA’s policy staff.
The Preparing for Your Hill Visit webinar is designed to give attendees an opportunity to understand key policy topics prior to their respective visits. A member from the Advocacy Associates team provides attendees with a walk-through demonstration of the 
mobile device app and provides an overview of how attendees can access their meeting schedules.
NASFAA staff host an in-person briefing, "Preparing for Hill Visits," the day before Hll Visits to provide printed materials for you to leave behind with the congressional offices you meet with. Advocacy Associates staff are also on-site to provide technical support and answer any scheduling or logistical questions.
Advocacy Associates use institutional addresses to match attendees with the Representatives and Senators where their school is located. Attendees are grouped together according to district, state, and region if necessary, for a total of three to six meetings per group.
The Advocacy Associates app provides attendees with their schedules for the day, the congressional staffer they will be meeting with in each office, talking points and supplemental documents provided by NASFAA, a map to navigate from office to office, bios and committee assignments for each member of Congress, feedback forms, and real-time updates from Advocacy Associates via push notifications for any changes and updates.
The dress for the Capitol Hill day is business attire. When attending meetings in person, we also encourage you to bring an umbrella, comfortable shoes (many people wear sneakers or other comfy shoes to enter the buildings and then switch into their dress shoes after going through the metal detectors), a camera to take photos with your legislators, and business cards. Security is tight at the Capitol Hill complex (similar to airport security), so leave all other unnecessary items behind.