Julia Smith

Julia Smith

Assistant Vice President, Federal Relations

Julia joined the University of Arizona as the Assistant Vice President, Federal Relations in January 2019 where she oversees all lobbying and advocacy efforts to advance UA’s priorities before federal agencies, Congress and the Administration. She is an expert in science communication and is dedicated to promoting the incredible work of University of Arizona researchers across these networks and the broader science advocacy community.

Julia formerly served as Assistant Vice President for Federal Relations at the Association of American Universities where her responsibilities for research funding and policy issues covered the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and the humanities. Her portfolio also included research costs and scientific openness and security and communicating science effectively to broader audiences. Julia served as a founder of and co-chair for the Golden Goose Award from 2012 to 2018. The Award recognizes federally funded basic research that may have been obscure when originally funded but has since gone on to have enormous societal impact. She holds a BA in Philosophy from Dickinson College.