AHCJ recognizes volunteer judges, sign-ups now open for 2026 contest

The Association of Health Care Journalists extends its sincere thanks to the volunteers who served as judges for the 2025 Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. For more than two decades, the contest has celebrated outstanding health care reporting, and the dedication of volunteer judges is essential to ensuring a fair, thoughtful and independent evaluation process.

This year’s contest attracted hundreds of entries across 16 categories, including the new Television and Video Reporting category and the revamped Audio Reporting category. Working in pairs through two rounds of judging, volunteers carefully reviewed submissions to identify the journalism that best exemplifies excellence in reporting on health care. Many judges have supported the contest for years, and several first-timers brought fresh perspectives and expertise.

Our judges include working journalists, retired news professionals and journalism educators, all of whom generously contribute their time to uphold the high standards of the awards program. We are grateful for their commitment and thank every volunteer who participated. Those who chose to be recognized publicly are listed below.

Volunteer to judge the 2026 Awards for Excellence

AHCJ welcomes new volunteer judges each year. Serving as a judge does not prevent you from entering the contest, and the contest team carefully manages assignments to avoid conflicts of interest with judges’ news organizations.

Questions about judging? Interested in serving on the AHCJ Contest Committee? Contact AHCJ Membership and Awards Manager Tina Price at tina@healthjournalism.org.

The Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism are overseen by the AHCJ Contest Committee, co-chaired by board members Jonathan Rockoff and Renuka Rayasam. Committee members also include board members Christine Herman, Jason Kane, Randy Dotinga, Joyce Frieden, Usha Lee McFarling and Carrie Feibel, along with member volunteers Sabriya Rice, Lauren Bavis, Pauline Arrillaga, Mia de Graaf, and Sarah Kwon.