Eight Reporters Named as JAWS 2026 Health Journalism Fellows
Grandville, MI, January 08, 2026 – Journalism and Women Symposium (JAWS), the premier not-for-profit organization dedicated to professional growth and empowerment of women journalists, has awarded the 2026 JAWS Health Journalism Fellowship to eight new and emerging health reporters who will examine disparities and inequities in U.S. health care.
With critical support from the Commonwealth Fund, the fellowship is in its fourth year. The goal of the fellowship is to train more journalists in health reporting and help diversify the journalist pool for better and more inclusive reporting on health issues across the nation.
Each fellow will spend the next seven months working on a substantive reporting project, assisted by a reporting grant of $4,000. Additionally, fellows receive a one-year membership to JAWS and registration and travel expenses to the JAWS annual conference.
These journalists will also receive one-on-one mentoring, have opportunities to participate in educational programs and attend networking events with veteran journalists.
“I continue to be impressed and inspired by each successive group of our health fellows,” said JAWS President Tanya Gazdik. “With the training and guidance our fellows receive through the program, they produce truly groundbreaking journalism. I’m grateful we have the financial support along with stellar program leadership to mentor the next generation of women reporters.”
“It’s been an incredibly chaotic year for health journalists. Ensuring journalists base their reporting on established science and evidence-based information is crucial to having an informed public. This fellowship will help bring attention to under-reported, important issues that affect millions of people throughout the U.S., as well as significantly impact our health system and cost of care,” said veteran health journalist and program director Liz Seegert.
The eight fellows and their projects are:
Lingzi Chen, California Local News Fellow at Lake County News
Project: An investigative chronicle of Lake County’s imminent health crisis triggered by the Big Beautiful Bill’s sweeping federal cuts.
Ngozi Cole, KAZU FM
Project: How the closure of a rural hospital’s labor and delivery unit is affecting maternal health access in South Monterey County, California.
Kathleen Davis, Science Friday
Project: Exploring what scientists are learning about microplastic exposure during pregnancy and fetal development, and where babies are most vulnerable to microplastics.
Ashley Fredde, North Carolina Health News
Project: Uncovering how financial consolidation and weakened oversight of nursing homes intersect to endanger older North Carolinians.
Rose Lundy, Maine Monitor (Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting)
Project: Unpacking the outlook of Northern Light Health, which serves Maine's northern and rural half, and is currently experiencing financial strain.
Margaret Manto, NOTUS
Project: Investigating how the changing immunization recommendations impact children in West Virginia, who rely on federally funded vaccines.
Ashley Moss, Louisiana First News
Project: Investigating the scope, causes, and systemic drivers of maternal mortality locally, and holding institutions accountable while offering solutions and resources to the audience.
Lucia Starbuck, KUNR Public Radio
Project: Investigating how anti-immigrant sentiments are affecting caregivers and their clients who come from different countries.
About the JAWS Health Journalism Fellowship
The fellowship includes a reporting grant to cover project-related time and expenses, along with ongoing mentoring from two experienced health journalists: Naseem Miller, senior health reporter with The Journalist’s Resource, and Bara Vaida, an independent health journalist based in Washington, D.C.
Fellows were selected from a pool of diverse applicants based on their knowledge and depth of understanding of their proposal topic, the proposed project’s contribution to public discussion and debate, its potential impact on the intended audience, challenges to conventions or stereotypes, and their ability to meet high journalistic standards.
About the Commonwealth Fund
The Commonwealth Fund, among the first private foundations started by a woman philanthropist, Anna M. Harkness, was established in 1918 with the broad charge to enhance the common good. Today, the Fund supports independent research on health care issues and makes grants to promote an equitable, high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for people of color, people with low income and the uninsured.
About Journalism & Women Symposium
JAWS has been for working journalists, journalism educators and researchers from across the country since 1985. Members meet in person and online to share resources, support, training and information about the issues that affect women in the industry. JAWS advances the professional empowerment and personal growth of women in journalism and advocates for more inclusive coverage of the diverse experiences and cultures that comprise our society.