AHCJ is excited to announce the 2024 Health Journalism fellows. This group is a dynamic and diverse mix of passionate and dedicated journalists committed to illuminating the complexities of health care in today’s world.
This year, more than 95 fellows will receive registration, travel support and lodging to attend the Health Journalism 2024 conference in New York City June 7-9.
With philanthropic support, AHCJ is able to help journalists across the country attend the annual conference, providing one of the most direct and extensive professional development opportunities in the industry. Not only do these fellowships assist journalists who otherwise might not have access to the latest resources and experts, they also provide a sense of community and belonging – things that are imperative to retaining journalists in the field and ensuring the long term sustainability of the industry.
For the first time, two of the place-based fellowships – Kansas-Missouri Health Journalism Fellowship and Wisconsin Health Journalism Fellowship – will offer a cohort experience in addition to conference support, enabling ongoing training and community-building throughout the year. AHCJ hopes to grow this model in the future to ensure journalists from all parts of the country have access to more customized health journalism training.
Additionally, the yearlong Reporting Fellowships on Health Care Performance and the National Science-Health-Environment Reporting Fellowships provide conference attendance support.
Thanks to our supporters for making these fellowships possible: Burroughs Wellcome Fund, California Health Care Foundation, Commonwealth Fund, Connecticut Health Foundation, Episcopal Health Foundation, Georgia Health Initiative, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Headwaters Foundation, Health Forward Foundation, Health Foundation for Western & Central New York, HHMI Science and Educational Media Group, The Kresge Foundation, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Methodist Healthcare Ministries, Rhode Island Foundation and St. David’s Foundation.
American Cities Health Journalism Fellowship
- Sono Motoyama, MLK50 (Memphis, Tenn.)
- Emily Woodruff, The Times-Picayune, The New Orleans Advocate (New Orleans, La.)
- Courtney Wise Randolph, MindSite News (Detroit, Mich.)
- Monica Williams, New York & Michigan Solutions Journalism Collaborative (Detroit, Mich.)
- Sharon Donovan, independent journalist (New Orleans, La.)
- Michal Ruprecht, ABC News and MedPage Today (Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich.)
- Pablo Orihuela, Fresnoland (Fresno, Calif.)
- Michael Finch, MLK50 (Memphis, Tenn.)
- Maria G. Ortiz-Briones, Vida en el Valle (Hanford, Calif.)
- Jerome Vaughn, WDET (Detroit, Mich.)
California Health Journalism Fellowship
- Megan Myscofski, KUNM (Sacramento, Calif.)
- Claudia Boyd-Barrett, California Health Report (Ojai, Calif.)
- Rob Waters, MindSite News (Berkeley, Calif.)
- Marijke Rowland, Central Valley Journalism Collaborative (Modesto, Calif.)
- Cecilia Nowell, independent journalist (Oakland, Calif.)
- Victoria Clayton, independent journalist (Westlake Village, Calif.)
- Prerna Khanna, The Desert Sun (Indian Wells, Calif.)
- April Dembosky, KQED (Oakland, Calif.)
- Kate Wolffe, CapRadio (Sacramento, Calif.)
- Jennifer Lu, APM Reports (Los Angeles, Calif.)
- Sunita Sohrabji, Ethnic Media Services (Fremont, Calif.)
- Heidi de Marco, KPBS (San Diego, Calif.)
- Sonia Narang, contributor to PRI’s The World and KALW (Los Angeles, Calif.)
- Marissa Evans, independent journalist (Los Angeles, Calif.)
- Shreya Agrawal, The Xylom (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Connecticut Health Journalism Fellowship
- Cris Villalonga-Vivoni, Hearst Media CT/Record-Journal (Fairfield, Conn.)
- Ashad Hajela, Connecticut Public Radio ( New Haven, Conn.)
Equity in Health Journalism Fellowship
- Jasmine Aguilera, El Tímpano (Oakland, Calif.)
- Sammy Caiola, independent journalist (Philadelphia, Pa.)
- Eleanore Catolico, New York & Michigan Solutions Journalism (Detroit, Mich.)
- Anissa Durham, Word in Black (San Diego, Calif.)
- Tamia Fowlkes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, Wis.)
- Destiniee Jaram, QCity Metro (Charlotte, N.C.)
- Elizabeth Moss, Journalism and Women Symposium (Berkeley, Calif.)
- Annika Nayak, independent journalist (New York, N.Y.)
- Camille Padilla Dalmau, 9 Millones (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
- Breanna Reeves, Black Voice News (Riverside, Calif.)
- Roxanne Scott, Journalism and Women Symposium (New York, N.Y.)
- Rosemary Westwood, WWNO/WRKF (New Orleans, La.)
- Candice Wilder, Signal Cleveland (Cleveland, Ohio)
Freelance Health Journalism Travel Scholarship
Through the use of repatriated international royalties from its membership in the Authors Coalition of America, AHCJ is able to provide assistance to freelance journalists wishing to attend the annual conference.
- Cassie Chew, independent journalist (Silver Spring, Md.)
- Jordan Gass-Pooré, independent journalist (Long Island City, N.Y.)
- Beth Howard, independent journalist (Charlotte, N.C.)
- Indira Khera, independent journalist (Chicago, Ill.)
- Shi En Kim, independent journalist (Washington D.C.)
- Anil Oza, independent journalist (Sunnyside, N.Y.)
- Hilary Powell, independent journalist (Washington D.C.)
- LaVonne Roberts, independent journalist (Pittsfield, Mass.)
- Lara Salahi, independent journalist (Waltham, Mass.)
- Cici Yu, independent journalist (Brookline, Mass.)
Georgia Health Journalism Fellowship
- Ariel Hart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.)
- Sydney Sims, Capital B News (Atlanta, Conyers, Ga.)
Reporting Fellowships on Health Care Performance
- Sheila Eldred, independent journalist writing for The Sahan Journal (Minneapolis, Minn.)
- Hannah Furfaro, The Seattle Times (Seattle, Wash.)
- Jayne Hopson, The Baltimore Times (Baltimore, Md.)
- Jessica Mador, WABE (Atlanta, Ga.)
- Ciara McCarthy, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas)
Kansas-Missouri Health Journalism Fellowship
- Elisabeth Elustin, The Kansas City Defender (Blue Springs, Mo.)
- Suzanne King, The Beacon (Kansas City, Mo.)
- Vickie Moss, Iola Register (Iola, Kan.)
- Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga, Kansas News Service and KCUR (Kansas City, Mo.)
Montana Health Journalism Fellowship
- Aaron Bolton, Montana Public Radio (Columbia Falls, Mont.)
- Kolby KickingWoman, ICT (Missoula, Mont.)
National Science-Health-Environment Reporting Fellowship
- Alejandra Martinez, The Texas Tribune (Fort Worth, Texas)
- Allison Kite, The Missouri Independent and The Kansas Reflector (Kansas City, Mo.)
- Britny Cordera, independent journalist (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
- Dillon Bergin, MuckRock (Philadelphia, Pa.)
- Eli Cahan, independent journalist (New York, N.Y.)
- Elizabeth Rembert, Harvest Public Media / Nebraska Public Media (Omaha, Neb.)
- Ian Stevenson, The Idaho Statesman (Boise, Idaho)
- Jenae Barnes, Capital B/Capital B Gary (Gary, Ind.)
- Jeniffer Solis, States Newsroom and Nevada Current (Las Vegas, Nev.)
- Mandy Nguyen, Vox (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Patrick Orsagos, Associated Press (Columbus, Ohio)
- Sarah Volpenhein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, Wis.)
New York Health Journalism Fellowship
- Douglass Dowty, Syracuse.com, The Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.)
- Tracey Drury, Buffalo Business First/American City Business Journals (Sanborn, N.Y.)
- Jon Harris, The Buffalo News (Buffalo, N.Y.)
- Scott Scanlon, The Buffalo News (Buffalo, N.Y.)
- Emyle Watkins, WBFO (Buffalo, N.Y.)
Rhode Island Health Journalism Fellowship
- Lynn Arditi, The Public’s Radio (Barrington, R.I.)
- Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current (Providence, R.I.)
- Janine Weisman, Rhode Island Current (Newport, R.I.)
Texas Health Journalism Fellowship
- Rachel Fairbank, independent journalist (Houston, Texas)
- Charlotte Huff, independent journalist (Fort Worth, Texas)
- Terri Langford, The Texas Tribune (Austin, Texas)
- William Melhado, The Texas Tribune (Austin, Texas)
- David Moreno, Fort Worth Report (Fort Worth, Texas)
- Keshondra Shipp, TEGNA-KIII (Corpus Christi, Texas)
- Raquel Villatoro, Tyler Morning Telegraph (Tyler, Texas)
- Christian von Preysing-Barry, KRGV-TV (McAllen, Texas)
- Frieda Wiley, WebMD/MDEdge (Heath, Texas)
- Aparna Zalani, CBS News (Southlake, Texas)
Wisconsin Health Journalism Fellowship
- Addie Costello, Wisconsin Public Radio (Madison, Wis.)
- Natalie Eilbert, USA Today Network-Wisconsin (Green Bay, Wis.)
- Jennifer Fink, independent journalist (Brownsville, Wis.)
- Sean Kirkby, Wisconsin Health News (Milwaukee, Wis.)
- Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, Wis.)
- Devi Shastri, The Associated Press (Milwaukee, Wis.)
- Jessica Van Egeren, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, Wis.)
- David Wahlberg, Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.)
- Zhen Wang, Independent Journalist (Waunakee, Wis.)
