The Center for Health Journalism announces 2026 Data Fellows

by

October 5, 2026

The USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism is pleased to announce the selection of 16 talented journalists who will be participating in our 2026 Data Fellowship.

This year’s diverse fellowship class includes journalists from national, regional and local outlets from across the nation, including USA Today, The Guardian, The Chicago Reporter, Georgia Public Broadcasting, Spotlight PA, Mississippi Today, The Colorado Sun, Block Club Chicago and WUSF Public Media.

The program also includes journalists reporting on California-focused projects for publications such as Southern California News Group, Capital & Main, Long Beach Post, The Vallejo Sun, The Oaklandside and Daylight San Diego.

The competitive Data Fellowship program equips reporters to use the power of original data analysis to investigate health care, health equity and child well-being, and child welfare system challenges. The program includes reporting grants, a multiday in-person training and five months of ongoing virtual training and mentorship with some of the nation’s most respected data journalists.

We’re honored to have the opportunity to work with these talented journalists to produce data-informed reporting on some of the most critical issues of our times in defining the health and well-being of children and families. We also will be equipping these reporters for the long term — building skills for data analysis that can hold institutions to account and monitor our progress in communities and as a nation.

In partnership with the Center for Health Journalism, reporters in this year’s Data Fellowship will produce ambitious data-informed news projects on topics such as food insecurity among children and families, access to quality child care, gaps in child lead testing, the health impacts of extreme heat on underserved communities, child sex trafficking, workplace health hazards and how they are compounded by a lack of access to care, pedestrian injuries and deaths, and whether special education is failing the children who need it most. Data projects also will investigate the toll of ICE enforcement, including declines in public school attendance and challenges to quality health care in detention facilities.

The Data Fellowship launched in 2015 in collaboration with the California Health Care Foundation and The California Endowment. We were able to add a national cohort in 2018, thanks to the generous support of the Doris Duke Foundation. This year, we welcomed new support from the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation.

The initiative started small, with one skills track. We now have three. The mentorship and seminars we host are taught by some of the nation’s top data journalists. We serve reporters joining us with varying skill levels. The initiative helps expand the capacity for investigative data reporting in newsrooms large and small.

“Data-driven reporting can make visible the patterns and gaps that are easy to miss in complex systems,” said Jodi Hill-Lilly, program director for child well-being at the Doris Duke Foundation. “By equipping journalists to investigate how policies and systems affect children and families, this fellowship can deepen public understanding and surface insights that help strengthen prevention-oriented approaches to child welfare.”

“Journalists have a huge role to play in making sure our health care systems meet the needs of the people they serve. It's hard to do that well without knowing how to use health data and make it meaningful for decisionmakers and everyday consumers,” said Eric Antebi, chief communications officer for the California Health Care Foundation. “We’re proud to support a program that is so effective at teaching reporters those vital data skills.”

“Great journalism has the potential to shape the national health care conversation and improve health care itself,” said Andrew Dreyfus, NIHCM president and CEO. “As the journalism field rapidly evolves, high-quality, evidence-based reporting has never been more important. We are proud to support a program that equips journalists with the skills to produce data-informed stories and inform the public and policymakers on critical health topics.”

We are pleased to announce our 2026 Data Fellows:

Nik Altenberg, Oaklandside

Sara Cooper, The Chicago Reporter

Gwen Dilworth, Mississippi Today

Sofi Gratas, Georgia Public Broadcasting

Nancy Guan, WUSF Public Media

Zack Haber, The Vallejo Sun

Lauren Mapp, Daylight San Diego

Ryanne Mena, Southern California News Group

Zack Newman, The Colorado Sun

Semantha Norris, Capital & Main

Kate Raphael, Long Beach Post