Monica Vidaurri works at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as a consultant on matters of astrobiology and policy and ethics. Her astrobiology background is in microbiology, exoplanet atmospheres and ionospheres, and exoplanet characterization. Her policy experiences lie in international law, ethics, governance, and space policy. The two fields meet at the intersection of biodefense, bioethics, and planetary protection, which fuels her passion for ensuring humanity adopts proactive, transparent, and ethical standards of space exploration, as well as bridging the gaps between the science world and the policy world. Monica moved to Washington, DC in January 2017 to do a semester internship in the US Senate. That internship turned into jobs and consultancies in government, private sector, non-profit, and most recently, NASA.Monica is also a musician, and teaches high school and drum corps brass and visual ensembles. She will be starting her master’s of science in biodefense within the school year at George Mason University, where she will study biology and government and international politics with a concentration in law, philosophy, and governance.