Scientists are increasingly motivated to engage beyond their peers. Many, especially early career scientists, rather than wondering if they should engage are questioning how to do so. However, there are still strong forces – psychological, cultural, and institutional – holding them back. There is a growing appetite among scientists to explore their roles in society and learn from the successes and the failures of their peers. This special session will feature scientists sharing their own stories of how and why they're engaging with society. These stories will jumpstart a broader discussion with the audience about the opportunities and challenges scientists face when they step into the arena of engagement. What motivates us? What scares us? This topic is especially timely given how quickly the social, policy, and media contexts for engagement are changing; evolving norms and expectations within the scientific community around engagement; and the increasing urgency for scientists to contribute to addressing society’s wicked problems. Our goals for this session are to 1) help scientists understand the risks and rewards of engagement, 2) motivate and inspire scientists who have not yet stepped into the arena of engagement to do so, 3) grow a community of support for scientists engaging, and 4) contribute to broader cultural changes within the scientific community to one that supports and rewards engagement.