Genya V. Dana is a Senior Science Policy Officer in the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC. She advises on emerging biotechnologies and international policy issues, is a negotiator on science, technology and innovation in multi-lateral organizations like the United Nations, and works to advance science, technology and innovation for sustainable development with a focus on Africa. She grew up on a small family farm in Mississippi, discovered a love for science in high school and took a circuitous path from the lab to the foreign policy world, having spent time in the financial sector, with an ag policy NGO, and a think tank working on governance of emerging technologies. Her scientific training is in ecological risk assessment of emerging technologies and stakeholder engagement in risk governance, and she conducted her doctoral research in South Africa. She has a masters in public policy and a PhD in conservation biology, both from the University of Minnesota.