Members in AHCJ’s professional category can vote for the association board of directors and will receive a link via email to cast their ballot. Voting will be open July 20 – August 1 at 5 p.m. CST.
If you are a professional category member and have not received your ballot, please check your junk/spam folders for an email from “info@healthjournalism.org“.
If you still are unable to locate your ballot, please contact Director of Engagement Andrea Waner at andrea@healthjournalism.org.
Each year, members in AHCJ’s professional category elect members for the association board of directors.
(Associate and allied members cannot run for election or cast ballots.)
Six of the 12 director positions come up for election each year for two-year terms, although incumbent board members are allowed to run for re-election.
Service on the board is a serious commitment. It has commensurate rewards (but no pay). In addition to participating in two board meetings each year and occasional conference calls, board members are responsible for making decisions about association policies and statements, as well as working with the executive director on training projects, financial matters and other efforts to achieve AHCJ’s strategic goals. Board meetings are normally held in person but can be held online if necessary.
Board members take on committee duties and contribute to association activities, including fundraising, advocacy, helping plan sessions at training events, membership outreach and writing/editing contributions. They may be asked to play a role in other association projects that arise. They also are asked to show their support through an annual donation to the Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, although there is no minimum required.
Below are the AHCJ professional members who have declared their board candidacy, listed in alphabetical order.
Sarah Boden
Health & Science Reporter, 90.5 WESA News
I joined AHCJ early in the COVID-19 pandemic. I was the sole health and science reporter at Pittsburgh’s NPR station. Like many members of AHCJ, I was working grueling hours. People depended on my reporting to make health and safety decisions, and I felt like I was on an island, constantly asking myself if I was doing a good enough job.
So I came to AHCJ seeking to be part of a community of other health care journalists who could share insights and resources, which would help me improve my own reporting and serve my audience better.
I have gotten that, and so much more. AHCJ has opened doors to invaluable opportunities (including a stint with AHCJ’s Health Care Performance Fellowship in 2022 which led to several awards as well as clips on NPR and KFF Health News.) My involvement with AHCJ has helped me expand my professional network, and led to friendships and collaborations with journalists all over the U.S.
As my esteem and gratitude for AHCJ grew, I sought new ways to get involved. In the past year, I’ve served as a contest judge, a member of the Right to Know Committee and a volunteer mentor for AHCJ’s mentorship program. Some of you may remember me from the awards luncheon in St. Louis, when I took the mic to urge members to donate just a little bit more to support AHCJ.
Now I’m seeking a seat on the board to take my involvement even further. I want to do more for this organization that has helped me — and those I’ve met — thrive professionally.
I believe I bring unique insights that could help foster the talents and careers of younger journalists, especially those working at smaller outlets, or in communities that may be local or health news “deserts.” That’s partly because prior to my move to Pittsburgh, I worked at Iowa Public Radio – while I was based in Des Moines, I was often on the road covering the state’s rural communities.
My top priorities as an AHCJ board member:
- Find ways to make workshops and conferences more accessible, particularly for journalists from newsrooms with smaller budgets.
- Champion AHCJ’s new mentorship program by encouraging more senior AHCJ members to serve as mentors.
- Bolster recruitment efforts with particular focus on increasing the regional, economic and racial diversity among AHCJ members.
I hope you’ll give me the opportunity to serve on the AHCJ board with dedication and zeal.
Please email if you have any thoughts or questions: sboden@wesa.fm.
Service with AHCJ
- 2022 Health Care Performance Reporting Fellow
- AHCJ contest judge
- Mentor for the mentorship program at 2023 conference in St. Louis
- Spoke at AHCJ 2023 in St. Louis to ask attendees to make donations to AHCJ
- Member of Right to Know committee
Dawn Fallik
Associate Professor, University of Delaware
Medical reporter and professor seeks a spot on AHCJ board, hoping to move from long-time volunteer to long-term relationship. Many of you may already know me from my time at IRE and NICAR, and I’ve walked in all the reporting shoes, from cub reporter to investigative team to laid-off journalist.
My last staff position was on The Philadelphia Inquirer’s medical and science desk. After they swiped left on me in 2007 (along with 80 others,) I moved to academia – I had been adjunct teaching since grad school at Mizzou, and I taught data bootcamps for the National Institute of Computer-Assisted Reporting.
Now I’m a tenured professor teaching journalism at the University of Delaware, and I freelance medical stories for NPR, The Washington Post and Neurology Today. I created the “Words for Nerds” program, teaching medical writing classes to pre-med undergrads and grad students. I also run seminars for researchers, teaching them how to share their work with the general public.
At Delaware, I’m part of a team of professors working on a $1 million National Science Foundation grant focusing on critical mineral mining – the first journalism professor ever to get an NSF grant in this area. I also received a grant from the National Institute for Health Care Management to create a series of articles on loneliness for NPR.
But enough about me. What can I do for AHCJ members?
My plan is to use my connections and my unusual mix of data, academic and reporting background toward three goals:
- Develop collaborations with journalism schools, both to encourage interest in medical and mental health reporting, and to support and create internships.
- Expand opportunities and access to training nationwide, particularly for mid-career journalists. This would include AI, audio and video skills training.
- Create connections between AHCJ and medical schools and facilities to expand access for journalists. This would also be an opportunity for those in health care to better understand how journalists operate.
I’ve lived in eight states, including California, Nebraska, Wisconsin, New York and now Pennsylvania, where I live in West Philly (Will Smith never visits.) My hope is to be of service to a wide number of AHCJ members and am always happy to answer questions, whether it’s about SQL or academia.
Thank you for considering me for this opportunity and I look forward to hearing from you in the future.
Service with AHCJ
I have volunteered for the freelance committee, helped coordinate a webinar on health care disparities and COVID, and served on several panels about using data, freelance contracts and academia.
Felice J. Freyer
Health care reporter, Boston Globe
This is my eighth run for the AHCJ board, and it will be my last. I’m asking you to reelect me one more time so I can finish projects I started, advance new goals, and provide continuity as we welcome several new board members and staffers.
AHCJ has undergone considerable upheaval over the past two years, but I suspect most members scarcely noticed – and I’m proud of that. I’ve worked hard to keep us on an even keel.
Shortly after I assumed the role of president, our executive director announced that he was leaving just 15 months after we hired him. With my fellow board members, I quickly devised a transition plan, appointed an interim director, formed a search committee, and vetted and hired a recruitment firm.
But it would take months to find a new ED. In the midst of all this, we organized our first in-person conference in three years. You may remember that event in Austin in 2022, with all of us wearing masks – it was a great success.
In September, Kelsey Ryan came on board as our new executive director. I’ve talked with her every week as she got acquainted with the staff, updated internal policies and procedures, planned our 2023 conference, managed our transition to an all-remote workforce, hired two new staffers, and established relationships with our funders, as well as finding new ones.
Throughout the pandemic and throughout the leadership transition, we’ve sustained our full array of member services, and our membership numbers and finances have held strong. Fellowships, blog items, tip sheets, and other training efforts have continued uninterrupted.
Two major goals of mine – replacing our antiquated website and developing a new strategic plan – had to be delayed because of the transition. But now work on both is almost done, and they will come to fruition within weeks. I want to see those projects through to completion.
I have other goals, too. In my final term, I will work to strengthen members’ engagement with AHCJ. We offer tremendous resources, and we need to make sure people can easily find them and take advantage of them. (The new website will help!) I’m also hoping to recruit a broader group of people to join our committees and run for the board.
I joined AHCJ the year it was founded, excited by the chance to participate in a community of people covering health care. My involvement deepened when I joined the Right to Know Committee and eventually became chair. With fellow RTK members, I traveled to DC to press HHS media folks for better access and educate state health officials about the importance of communication.
It’s all been tremendously rewarding, personally and professionally. To this day, AHCJ’s resources bolster my work as a health care reporter at the Boston Globe. As a board member, I’ve enjoyed helping the organization grow and adapt to changing times. I’m grateful for your support over these past 14 years, and ask for your vote one last time.
Service with AHCJ
- President, 2021 to present
- Vice president, 2017 to 2021
- Treasurer, 2013 to 2017
- Chair, executive director search committee, 2022
- Member, executive director search committee, 2020
- Member, Finance Committee, 2014 to 2021
- Chair, Right to Know Committee, 2009 to 2021
- Member, Right to Know Committee, 2003 (?) to present
Gideon Gil
Managing Editor, STAT
I’m running for re-election to the AHCJ board because of my deep appreciation for this organization and the vital role its members and staff play in promoting excellence in health journalism — now more than at any time in my 12 years as a board member. Our profession is facing unprecedented challenges: among them economic forces driving many news organizations to close or cut back on health and local reporting; political polarization feeding the spread of misinformation about public health and science; and a lack of diversity and inclusiveness in our ranks. I believe AHCJ is poised to take on a more prominent leadership role in addressing these challenges, and I’m excited to help guide that work.
AHCJ itself is going through a transition, with our selection last year of an innovative new executive director, our separation from the University of Missouri, and the ongoing work on our first new strategic plan in more than a decade. As the current vice president of the board, I hope to work with the board and staff to finalize the plan and then put it into place. A strategic plan is a set of priorities and goals; it will be up to the board and staff to flesh it out with actual programs and timelines and ensure we live up to its promise. I’m especially interested in building our capacity to provide resources and training for local and early-career journalists who cover health issues only episodically and to counter health misinformation. And I want to continue my focus on fulfilling AHCJ’s goal of “having our membership, board, and staff reflect the diversity of U.S. society,” through our staff’s work to engage with other journalism organizations and my participation on the membership committee and its DEI subcommittee.
My background as an AHCJ board member and a longtime editor and medical reporter have given me the experience needed to contribute ideas and support for our excellent staff. I’ve been a managing editor of STAT since its founding in 2015, where I oversee investigative reporting and science coverage, work with foundations to solicit support for our journalism, and started the Sharon Begley Science Reporting Fellowship, with the goal of expanding the number of health and science journalists from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in our profession. Previously, I was health and science editor at the Boston Globe, an editor and reporter at the Louisville Courier-Journal, and a Knight Science Journalism fellow.
I ask for your vote, as well as your active involvement in AHCJ. I’m confident you’ll find it as rewarding as I have.
Service with AHCJ
A board member since 2011, I am currently vice president and a member of the executive committee. I previously served as AHCJ treasurer and on the 2022 search committee that ran the search for current executive director Kelsey Ryan. I’m past chair and a current member of the membership and finance and development committees, and I chaired the local planning committee for Health Journalism 2013 in Boston. I’ve also been a panel moderator at numerous conferences.
Christine Herman
Freelance editor and reporter
I’m a freelance journalist specializing in audio and digital editing, and the former managing editor of Side Effects Public Media based at WFYI.
I’m eager to serve another term on the AHCJ Board in order to carry on the work I started in my first term. When I joined the Board in 2021, I immediately signed on with the contest committee because I wanted to advocate for a more streamlined submission process, to make it easier for people to enter. We implemented changes fairly quickly, and many people sent us feedback this past year to say they appreciated the simplified entry form, and that felt so good! Now, as contest committee co-chair, I’m spearheading efforts to further update our contest rules and requirements, recognizing that the media landscape has evolved and shifted, so our contest must adapt as well. We’re currently investigating how other esteemed journalism organizations have evolved their contests over the years, including category and size definition, to see if there are changes that make sense to apply to AHCJ’s contest. I’m excited to shepherd this work to completion (although the process of evolving is never over, of course) alongside contest committee chair Carrie Feibel.
I’m also eager to continue to help the Board and AHCJ’s staff and executive director make decisions about the future of the organization to ensure that we are continuing to provide top-notch resources, including high-quality conference sessions and digital resources, to all members, from all types of media, whether they’re new to health journalism or more seasoned. As a Board member, I’ve pitched, organized and moderated several sessions at recent AHCJ conferences/summits, including a hands-on workshop about reporting on suicide and a session on myths/misconceptions about gun violence. I currently help moderate the AHCJ listserv and also serve as a mentor in AHCJ’s new mentorship program. Something new I’d like to explore in my next Board term is: What can AHCJ do to support health journalists interested in making the leap from reporting to editing (since this is a leap I made myself a couple years ago). And as someone who also recently transitioned from staff to freelance, I’m also eager to get more involved in the AHCJ freelance community as well.
I appreciate your vote and look forward to continuing to serve the AHCJ community!
Service with AHCJ
I’ve pitched, organized and moderated several sessions at recent AHCJ conferences/summits, including a hands-on workshop about reporting on suicide and a session on myths/misconceptions about gun violence.
I currently help moderate the AHCJ listserv and also serve as a mentor in AHCJ’s new mentorship program.
And I’m the AHCJ contest committee co-chair, spearheading potential changes to the contest to adapt to the changing landscape for health journalism.
Michele Cohen Marill
Independent journalist
The memories of my first AHCJ conference have gotten fuzzy, but I’ll never forget how I felt: These were my people. Although I had been writing for WebMD and a health-related trade publication, I didn’t yet define myself as a health journalist. As a freelancer in a home office, I worked in isolation. While it was a bit overwhelming to meet so many talented writers and editors at the conference, it was also a relief. I realized that I did have co-workers—they were just scattered across the country.
Eleven years later, I remain in awe of this supportive group of journalists who readily share advice, resources, contacts, and even assignments. I have learned so much from my colleagues. Over the years, I have tried to give back by organizing and moderating conference panels, serving on the Freelance Committee, becoming a mentor, and offering informal support to my expanding community of long-distance co-workers. This year, I am heading the conference subcommittee of the Freelance Committee to coordinate proposals for sessions at AHCJ24. I am running for the AHCJ board to increase my capacity to support the association, its members, and the role of health journalism writ large.
I began my journalism career at the Sun-Sentinel in South Florida at a time when newspapers were expanding. In fact, the rows of newspaper boxes outside diners and strip centers grew so large that city councils were trying to reign them in. I moved on to narrative writing at Atlanta magazine and then to freelance work—and like my colleagues, faced the headwinds of change. While journalism today is in flux, one thing is certain: Freelance work will represent a major part of the profession.
With fewer newsroom resources, health journalists increasingly rely on AHCJ to provide access to networking, conference credentials, professional development, databases, grants, and fellowships. As a member of the board, I would like to focus on enhancing those resources. Our most important professional development event is the annual conference, and I would like to assist the staff and members as we make the conferences as timely and relevant as possible. Finally, it’s important for AHCJ to be widely recognized as the authority in health journalism. I would like to help find ways to promote AHCJ among journalists and more broadly raise its public profile.
Service with AHCJ
- Freelance Committee member, chair of conference subcommittee
- Contributed to Freelance Committee activities, including monthly Lunch & Learn sessions on Zoom and a blog post/tip sheet on profile-writing
- Frequent moderator of AHCJ conference sessions
- Organized and moderated two webinars in 2021, when conferences were suspended due to COVID
- Mentor to a new AHCJ member/freelance writer
Ellen James Martin
Syndicated columnist
My name is Ellen James Martin, managing editor of the Washington News Service in DC. As a longtime journalist, I’m excited to run for the AHCJ board!
As working healthcare journalists, we have tremendous potential for cross-pollination. While serving on the board, I will champion the interests of both staff and freelance members to enhance your workflow in multiple ways. This I commit to you!
In newsrooms where I’ve worked, my nickname is “idea factory.” On the board, I’ll lead an initiative to curate “101 Best Healthcare Coverage Ideas.” This ongoing database (both print and electronic) will offer a valuable way to share coverage strategies for our many editors, reporters and freelancers. It will also serve as a strong draw for new members. I edited such a book for another journalists’ organization and it remains in high demand.
I’d also dive into conference planning and support our training goals as well as program offerings for our growing roster of independent reporters and editors—who are playing an increasingly important role in our organization.
My background is primarily mainstream print journalism—including staff jobs at the Baltimore Sun, Minneapolis StarTribune and Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser. I’ve contributed stories and columns to such newspapers as the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Los Angeles Times. I’ve done regular radio commentaries for Marketplace on American Public Media and appeared on Good Morning America, CNBC and other television networks.
The Washington News Service specializes in consumer-oriented coverage for newspapers throughout the U.S. My weekly “HealthSmart” column translates world class biomedical research for real world consumers. It’s a really thrilling coverage area with an almost infinite amount of new material, including from the National the Institutes of Health.
My academic background includes an MSJ from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and an MIA from Columbia’s School of International Affairs. I’ve won a number of journalism awards and received a Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism from Columbia’s journalism school.
Given my journalistic experience I am committed to building on AHCJ’s many strengths to better serve our membership. It would be an honor and privilege to serve on the board and I respectfully ask for your vote. Thank you!
Service with AHCJ
I served on the membership committee and I see the great potential for expansion of our organization.
Rick Rader
Director of Health Innovation and Habilitation, Orange Grove Center, Chattanooga TN
By way of an introduction, I am a physician cross trained in internal medicine and medical anthropology, thus I have focused on the biocultural determinants of health and disease models. My specialty is intellectual and developmental disabilities (Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, neurodiversity). I have been a journalist for over 25 years (Editor in chief of Exceptional Parent Magazine and currently Editor-in-chief of HELEN, The Journal of Human Exceptionality) and have published over 300 articles on health and disability. I co-authored the seminal report by the National Council on Disability (ncd.gov) “Health Equity Framework,” and have been a consultant to five former U.S. Surgeon General’s in the area of health and disability. I am currently the President of the American Association on Health and Disability (www.aahd.us). I have had the honor of having two presidential appointments to federal health agencies (National Council on Disability and the Presidents Committee on People with Intellectual Disabilities.
Over the past several years the public’s trust in science, research, guidelines, and healthcare reporting has been severely diminished. This mistrust has been extended to the entire field of journalism, especially in the political arena. The health of the public, based on longevity and other significant metrics, has begun a downward trend. I believe a better relationship between physicians and patients can reverse this trend.
If I was elected to the AHCJ board, I would like to work with the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) to propose a mandatory course in medical reporting for all medical students. Each year we graduate approximately 30,000 new physicians. They receive no training, exposure, or experience in how to evaluate, process or understand medical news reporting. I often hear from the medical students that I teach and mentor, that patients often ask their opinion on current news articles or broadcasts on controversial medical and health issues. They share that they are clueless and feel they lose ground by not being informed or knowledgeable about these issues (often about medications, lifestyle, genetics, aging, vaccines, exercise, diet, risks, and mental health). Over a course of four years, we see a new crop of over a hundred thousand physicians entering practice (post residency). I think with a proper undergraduate introduction to healthcare reporting they will be better prepared to engage in conversations with their patients about controversial healthcare issues that impact on confidence, trust, compliance, attitudes, and other parameters that ultimately impact on clinical outcomes.
Jonathan Rockoff
Health Business Editor, The Wall Street Journal
I’m a longtime healthcare journalist and AHCJ member who has been serving on the contest committee. I joined the contest committee – and am now running for the board – because AHCJ has meant so much to my work, from helping me understand U.S. healthcare to honoring some pieces I wrote and edited. I want to give back and advance AHCJ’s central role promoting revealing, insightful and responsible healthcare journalism.
As a board member, I’d seek to further our efforts to provide resources to do accurate, reliable healthcare journalism. There is no more crucial time given the spread of health misinformation and disinformation. One of my priorities would be making sure we are giving members – young and experienced, fulltime and freelance – everything they need to responsibly report on healthcare in the current environment.
A second priority is preparing to report more deeply and intelligently about the impact of artificial intelligence on our beat: AI has come to healthcare. I’d like to further AHCJ’s efforts to help find and give our members any new tools and skill sets required to cover it.
And a third priority is making sure we keep building a strong pipeline of talented, committed healthcare journalists, including forging deeper relationships with journalism schools.
After starting out at the Providence Journal, I got into healthcare reporting while at the Baltimore Sun covering the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health and federal health matters generally. Then I was a reporter covering pharmaceutical and biotech companies for the Wall Street Journal. One of my proudest achievements was winning an AHCJ first-place award for stories my colleagues and I wrote revealing how pharmaceutical companies like Valeant bought drugs and then hiked the prices, and how Pfizer came up with the price for a breast-cancer drug. (The stories were a finalist for a Pulitzer.) Currently I’m the WSJ’s health business editor. Last year, I edited a story – which also won a first-place AHCJ award – exposing wealthy hospitals that got U.S. pandemic aid they didn’t need.
Working with the smart, committed Contest Committee members sparked my interest in doing more for AHCJ. We have a great opportunity to inform the millions of people who rely on health-care reporting at a moment when they are bombarded with misinformation and disinformation and technology promises to make over the field. I hope to be a bigger part of AHCJ’s efforts to provide the resources and recruit new members to do all that.
Service with AHCJ
Member, Contest Committee
Tammy Worth
Freelance journalist
My name is Tammy Worth, and I am a long-time member-volunteer of AHCJ. I have been on AHCJ’s freelance committee for a number of years; I created the freelance market guides for the website; and at annual conferences have moderated panels and assisted with Pitchfest and field trips. I’m running for the board, in part, because I want to boost freelance representation. About 14 years ago, when I joined the organization, the industry was just at the outset of dramatic changes. At that time, freelancers were a small portion of AHCJ’s membership. But as the industry rumbled with an increasing number of layoffs and movement toward the Web, the number of freelancers has grown dramatically. Four of the 12 board members are currently independent journalists, and we need to continue to expand our representation so our voices are heard on committees, at events and during everyday decision making.
As a board member, I would also like to help maintain the association’s commitment to educational events and push for additional opportunities. Since I’ve been a member of AHCJ, I have been a Missouri fellow and was the only freelancer my year to receive a Reporting Fellowship on Healthcare Performance. I understand the importance of offering robust fellowship and training opportunities through AHCJ, particularly as a freelancer. Without the means and support of a full-time employer, continuing education and networking can be particularly challenging to receive. As a board member, I’ll work to ensure that AHCJ continues to offer and help fund these events.
It is also important to ensure that independent journalists – and all members – take part in AHCJ to the greatest extent possible. I plan to continue volunteering my time to make events successful in the coming years and would work to engage more members to take part in, and volunteer time for, AHCJ’s offerings.
I have a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s in journalism from Northeastern University in Boston. I’m a former weekly newspaper staffer and have worked as a freelance writer for 18 years. During that time, I’ve written for publications including Nature, the Washington Post, the Economist, Health.com and Leader’s Edge magazine, and I wrote a health column, Practical Matters, for the Los Angeles Times.
Service with AHCJ
- Volunteer with Pitchfest
- Moderator for conference panels, assist with field trips
- Freelance committee member