Judges for 2025

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

**Mohamed Hammoud** is a Lebanese-born Canadian author, TEDx speaker, leadership coach and community advocate. He has worked with New Canadian Media, supporting immigrant journalists across the country. His own writing is shaped by his journey from Lebanon to Canada, with a focus on displacement and resilience. He lives in London, Ontario with his family.

**Angela Misri** is a novelist and journalist who worked at the CBC for 14 years before becoming the digital director at The Walrus. These days, she’s teaching journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University, and her research focuses on using AI to create journalism content.

**Katherine Monk** is a best-selling author, filmmaker and journalist who started as a news reporter at the Vancouver Sun in 1990, and ended as national film critic for Postmedia/Canwest News Service in 2015. Author of Weird Sex & Snowshoes – And Other Canadian Film Phenomena and Joni: The Creative Odyssey of Joni Mitchell. She currently lives in Vancouver, where she’s happily settled into retirement.

JOAN HOLLOBON AWARD for BEAT REPORTING

**Gabrielle Giroday** is the media relations lead and editor of U of T Med Magazine, at University
of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine. She reported for the Winnipeg Free Press and served as editor of Law Times at Thomson Reuters in Toronto, before joining U of T in 2019.

**Alain Goupil** was a journalist for more than 35 years. He began his career in journalism as a reporter for the Radiomutuel network. After a few months at a television station (TQS) in the Eastern Townships, he joined the daily newspaper La Tribune in Sherbrooke, where he built a career spanning three decades. His versatility led him to cover all sectors of activity, including municipal, judicial, economic, and sports news.

**Katherine O’Neill** is President and CEO of the YMCA of Northern Alberta. She was previously CEO of YMCA Edmonton. During her journalism career she worked in a range of daily and weekly newsrooms, including the Exeter Times-Advocate, the Toronto Star, and as a Globe and Mail national correspondent based in Edmonton. She was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in recognition of her significant contributions to the community in 2022.

STUART M. ROBERTSON AWARD for BREAKING NEWS

**Janet Bagnall** was a feature writer, editorial writer and columnist during 35 years with the Montreal Gazette, specializing in coverage of children’s and women’s rights. She was a 2008 Women’s Y Women of Distinction laureate and twice an NNA finalist.

**Kate Dunn** is a former journalist nominated for the National Newspaper Award, Michener Award and other laurels for her work at the Montreal Gazette and Calgary Herald. She was The Christian Science Monitor’s southern Africa correspondent and has written for The Economist, The New York Times, Maclean’s. She worked in communications for the UN, other international organizations and Canada’s federal government. She is now retired in rural Nova Scotia.

BUSINESS

**Vibhu “Vibz” Gairola** is a litigator with a specialty in employment, labour, contract and human rights issues. Prior to entering legal practice, he freelanced for numerous publications including Toronto Life, the Toronto Star, Flare and was a senior researcher for Reader’s Digest Canada. He has been a teaching assistant in professional ethics and media law at Toronto Metropolitan University.

**Karen Macdonald’s** 40-plus year career in journalism focused on leadership roles in Quebec’s English-speaking community in Quebec City and Montreal. She retired from Global News in 2024. She was owner and publisher of North America’s oldest newspaper, the Quebec City Chronicle-Telegraph. She funds the annual Karen Macdonald Award in journalism for Indigenous or Black students at her alma mater, Concordia University. She is currently the chair of the Foundation of Greater Montreal and United Way Centraide Canada.

**Chris Welner** is an award-winning editor and writer, retired from a career in newspapers, magazines, and corporate and government communications. The Montreal native has worked at the Toronto Star, Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald, and in the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick governments. He has worked in international sport and the energy industry and was editor of IMPACT Magazine. He lives in Calgary.

MARY ANN SHADD CARY AWARD AWARD for COLUMNS

**Sheima Benembarek** is a Moroccan Canadian journalist and editor. She is the culture and society editor at The Conversation Canada and a contributing writer for The Walrus. Her non-fiction book, Halal Sex: The Intimate Lives of Muslim Women in North America was released in 2023 by Penguin Random House Canada and made bestselling lists.

**Mattea Roach** is a writer and broadcaster. They are the host of Bookends on CBC and previously hosted Canadaland’s Backbench. They are famous for holding a 23-game winning streak on Jeopardy! — the longest for any Canadian contestant in the show’s history.

**Ève St-Laurent** is senior legal counsel to CBC/Radio-Canada, where she advises on all matters relating to media law. Her work is mostly to support investigative journalists in the various aspects of their work. Prior to joining the law department, she worked as a journalist for Radio-Canada in Ottawa and Vancouver. She is a member of the board of the Canadian Media Lawyers Association.

DIGITAL STORYTELLING

**Marina Jimenez** is the director of communications for the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. During a 25-year journalism career, she worked at six different newsrooms in three provinces, including stints on The Globe and Mail’s editorial board, a foreign writer for the National Post and an on-air reporter for CBC Alberta. She won a National Newspaper Award for Beat Reporting, and was a finalist on three other occasions. She still works as a freelance travel writer.

**Sofi Langis** is an award-winning documentary producer, director and development executive whose credits span CBC, VICE News, TV5 Monde, and The New Yorker. After a five-year tenure as a producer at VICE Canada, she founded her production company Narratif. Her work ranges from stories in conflict zones to investigative series on climate and science, including the Canadian Screen Award-winning *Vice Canada Reports*, *Climat déréglé* (Télé-Québec), *Kumtor* (Illico) and *The Nature of Things*.

**Winston Sih** is a cross-platform freelance journalist and television host. He was a host of the daily program Breakfast Television, a digital correspondent for CityNews, and a digital coordinating producer for Citytv. He is a lecturer on journalism and media at the Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University.

CLAUDE RYAN AWARD for EDITORIAL WRITING

**Edie Austin’s** 39-year career at the Montreal Gazette included more than eight years as editorial page editor and another 18 years as an editorial writer. Originally from Vancouver, she worked as a reporter at the Vancouver Sun. She served on Quebec Press Council complaints tribunals and the appeals committee. She was on the board of the Centre for Investigative Journalism (forerunner of the CAJ). She currently works as an editor in the McGill University communications department.

**Sophie Gaulin** is the executive director and editor-in-chief of La Liberté. Born in France, she studied Canadian civilization at the University of Bordeaux, where she developed a strong interest in Canada. An active member of the media industry, she has proudly served on the boards of the National News Council and News Media Canada. She has been a judge for the National Newspaper Awards for more than 10 years.

**Anne McIlroy** recently retired as Associate Vice-President, Advancement at the University of Ottawa. She spent more than 25 years in journalism, including 16 years at the Globe and Mail where she was the first woman to hold the position of Parliamentary Bureau Chief. She has reported from across Canada as well as Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East.
She began her career at the Ottawa Citizen.

EXPLANATORY WORK

**Heidi Legg** is an American-Canadian journalist whose work has appeared in the Boston Globe, Ottawa Citizen, The Globe and Mail, CNN, The Atlantic and USA Today. She served as head of Press, Politics and Public Affairs for the British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in Boston. She was a Future of Media Research Fellow at Harvard University and special projects director at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center. Her Substack, The North Atlantica, explores politics, culture and enduring ties between the US, United Kingdom and Canada.

**Valérie Ouellet** is a bilingual award-winning broadcast reporter based in Toronto whose data-driven stories for the CBC News investigative unit often explore women’s health, medical devices and systemic inequalities. She was awarded the prestigious St. Clair Balfour Fellowship at Massey College and has been a finalist for the CAJ Data Journalism Award 11 times. She won an Amnesty International Media Award for documenting COVID cases in Canadian jails during the pandemic. She teaches data journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University.

As a 10-year-old, **Jill Oviatt** tracked the Watergate hearings in a scrapbook she keeps as a reminder that rigorous reporting can make a difference. After a decade chasing stories for print, radio, and CBC television (Montreal), she worked 25 years as a communications leader for the World Health Organization (Manila), Canadian Institute for Health Information (Ottawa), Edelman Global Communications (Hong Kong), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (Seattle), and League of California Cities (Sacramento), where she trained hundreds in effective and powerful storytelling.

FEATURE PHOTO

**Andrew Vaughan** spent more than 40 years as a photojournalist, 36 years as the Halifax-based national photographer at The Canadian Press. A member of the Atlantic Journalism Hall of Fame, he was nominated for seven National Newspaper Awards and won four times.

**Riziero (Reg) Vertolli** spent more than 40 years in photojournalism, serving as photography director for Metroland Media before retiring from newspapers. He is the academic coordinator for the digital photography certificate program at Sheridan College and served on the advisory board for the photojournalism program at Loyalist College. His career has been dedicated to community journalism, mentorship, and the advancement of photographic storytelling.

**Hannah Yoon** is a freelance photographer and photo editor based in Philadelphia. She has worked as a photo editor for publications like the Marshall Project, The New York Times and Maclean’s. She is a member of Women Photograph, Diversify Photo and a founding board member of the Authority Collective. She serves as a jury member for the Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award and the CJF-Edward Burtynsky Award for Climate Photojournalism.

ILLUSTRATED COMMENTARY

**Jason A. Chiu** is a visual editor at The New York Times, working on the Headway team leading visual storytelling. He was at The Globe and Mail for a decade as deputy head of visuals and led some of the Globe’s most ambitious editorial and product endeavours. His work has been recognized in design competitions worldwide. He is a four-time finalist and three-time winner of a National Newspaper Award.

**Charmaine Gooden** is a journalist, fashion editor, educator, and founder of the Black Fashion Canada Database, a digital archive launched in 2022. With over 30 years of experience in the fashion and media industry, she has held senior editorial roles at leading publications including Chatelaine and Images Magazine, and has contributed to ELLE, FASHION, Flare, Zoomer and other national titles.

**Jack Nagler** was CBC’s Ombudsman from 2019 through 2024. Prior to that, he had a series of leadership roles at the public broadcaster, which included running its international coverage as well as its network radio news programs. Along the way, he co-authored RTDNA’s Code of Ethics, served on the CAJ Ethics Committee and was vice president of the Organization of News Ombuds and Standards and Public Editors.

INNOVATION IN JOURNALISM

**Simona Chiose** manages public affairs and engagement strategy for the government relations office at the University of Toronto. She is also a faculty member at the Royal Conservatory of Music, where she has taught courses in public policy and politics. During her journalism career, she worked at The Canadian Press, CityTV and held significant roles at The Globe and Mail, including higher education reporter and editor and assistant news editor. She has a PhD in political science.

**Anabelle Nicoud** is a commissioning editor at Microsoft AI, based in the US. She began her career as a reporter and held leadership roles at La Presse and Le Devoir. She has worked at the intersection of media and technology, including roles at Apple News and IBM. She collaborates with WAN-IFRA and serves on the advisory board of Citywire. Her bylines have appeared in L’actualité, Nouveau Projet, Vogue Business and Libération.

**Nadine Yousif** is the senior Canada reporter for BBC News. She has reported from nearly every province and territory, covering breaking news, major political stories, natural disasters, along with sports and culture. Previously, she was a beat reporter for the Toronto Star during the Covid-19 pandemic, an Alberta provincial affairs reporter for Star Edmonton and a Western Canada correspondent for Maclean’s.

NORMAN WEBSTER AWARD for INTERNATIONAL REPORTING

**Séverine Biderman** is a bilingual executive leader with more than 25 years at the intersection of media, law, and public service. A member of the Paris and Quebec Bars, she began her career as a journalist and producer with Radio-Canada, TVA and TFO and was head of original production at TV5 Québec Canada. She chaired the board of the Lycée Français de Toronto and was named Chevalier in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques for her contributions.

**Yaa-Hemaa Obiri-Yeboah** is the founder of The Y Variable, where she helps organizations design multi-generational workplaces where every generation can thrive. A 2003 Rhodes Scholar with two Master’s degrees from Oxford, she brings nearly 20 years of federal government experience to her work, including her role as regional director with Global Affairs Canada.

**Graeme Smith** is writing another book. His bestselling memoir about Afghanistan won the Weston prize for non-fiction, among others. He previously worked for the International Crisis Group and the United Nations. He reported for the Globe and Mail from 2001 to 2012, winning several awards including a Michener and an Emmy Award and multiple nominations for the National Newspaper Awards.

GEORGE BROWN AWARD for INVESTIGATIONS

**Jude Isabella** is the executive editor of bioGraphic. A science journalist for more than 30 years, she concentrates on the environment, ecology, and archaeology in her own writing. She is the founding editor of Hakai Magazine, an online publication focused on coastal science and societies that she also steered as editor-in-chief for 10 years.

**Brigitte Noël** is an award-winning reporter with the Radio-Canada series Enquête, where she exposed allegations of sexual misconduct against billionaire Robert Miller and delved into the world of QAnon. She previously worked with Quebecor’s Bureau d’enquête, VICE and CBC News. She has created and hosted numerous podcasts and hosted and produced documentaries on topics ranging from a Canadian mine in Kyrgyzstan and conversion therapy in Quebec.

**Fred Vallance-Jones** is director of journalism at the University of King’s College in Halifax, where he has been on the faculty for 19 years. When not busy with his administrative duties, he teaches introductory and advanced data journalism courses in the master of journalism program. He is an NNA winner for investigations and a Michener Award nominee. His reporting career spanned 23 years, at the CBC and Hamilton Spectator. He is co-author of three journalism textbooks.

E. CORA HIND AWARD for LOCAL REPORTING

SMALL NEWSROOM

**Sujata Berry** is a veteran multiplatform journalist at CBC News, reporting for programs like The National and The Current for over 30 years. In 2021, she created The Temp Project to support and develop non-permanent staff at CBC News. She continues to help with strategic staffing initiatives for training and development. After a lifetime of chasing stories, she loves the opportunity to mentor a new generation of journalists.

**Sabrina Fabian** started her career as a reporter for the Banff Crag & Canyon 20 years ago. Since then, she has worked in both English and French at CBC/Radio-Canada as a network reporter, radio host and field producer at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Today she’s a producer at CBC Kids News, Canada’s only national news service for tweens, a website she was instrumental in bringing to life. She’s based in Halifax.

An award-winning journalist, **Meagan Wohlberg** served as editor of the Northern Journal newspaper and Northern Public Affairs magazine before freelancing for a variety of national and northern publications. She is now the Director of Policy, Legislation and Communications with the Government of the Northwest Territories’ department of Education, Culture and Employment based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

MEDIUM NEWSROOM

**Kamila Hinkson** is a senior editor at The Athletic. She previously worked at CBC Montreal, CTV Montreal, the Toronto Star and Montreal Gazette. She has also served as a journalism instructor at Concordia University in Montreal. She is a three-time RTDNA Award winner for sports feature writing and a past participant in the Poynter Leadership Academy for Women in Media.

Nicholas Hune-Brown is a writer and executive editor of The Local, an online non-profit publication that tells in-depth stories from across Toronto that has been recognized as one of the country’s best new journalism outlets. As a magazine writer for publications like The Walrus, Toronto Life and The Guardian, Hune-Brown has won multiple awards, including National Magazine Awards, the Canadian Association of Journalists award and the 2022 Hillman Prize.

**Rod Mickleburgh** was a journalist for over 40 years, 23 of them at The Globe and Mail. He was a co-winner of the Michener Award for reporting on the tainted blood scandal and was the Globe’s Beijing bureau chief. Since retiring, he has freelanced, written On the Line, a book about B.C. labour history, which won the George Ryga Award for Social Awareness, and co-authored former BC premier John Horgan’s best-selling memoir.

LARGE NEWSROOM

**Sean Henry** is the host of Daybreak, CBC Montreal’s weekday morning radio show. Prior to taking over as host in January 2021, he anchored late evening and weekend television newscasts.

**Kate Jaimet** is the deputy editor of University Affairs magazine and university affairs.ca .. Her previous roles in journalism include senior editor of Canada’s History magazine and national reporter with the Ottawa Citizen.

**Shannon Miller** worked for more than two decades in newsrooms across B.C. She held every newsroom role imaginable (and some unimaginable), including senior news editor and managing editor at the Vancouver Province. She currently serves as manager, Nexwsyétsem (Communications & Engagement) for the Squamish Nation. When she can, she writes about seaweed.

WILLIAM SOUTHAM AWARD for LONG FEATURE

**Esther Enkin** was CBC Ombudsperson for six years. Previously, she oversaw standard and practice on a daily basis as executive editor of CBC News. She was one of the founding producers of The Journal and her documentaries won several international awards. Through her involvement with the Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma, where she is vice-president, she helped create Mind-Set, a journalists’ guide to mental health reporting.

**David Gutnick** worked as a documentary producer at CBC Radio for 36 years. His most recent audiobook for children is No Nothing No Everything. His paintings and other work are collected at https://www.gutnickart.ca He lives in Montreal.

**Samia Madwar** is a senior editor at The Walrus and previously held roles at Up Here and Canadian Geographic magazines. She has mentored emerging journalism professionals through the Canadian Association of Journalists and the National Media Awards Foundation. She has judged the Online Journalism Awards, the National Magazine Awards, the American Society of Magazine Editors awards and the National Newspaper Awards. She lives in Toronto.

NEWS PHOTO

**Shane Kelley** worked for over 20 years as a photojournalist for three Canadian daily newspapers: the Toronto Sun, the Toronto Star and the Montreal Gazette. In addition to general news and sports photojournalism, she also produced a weekly trending column for the Montreal Gazette for 15 years. She has also worked for various American newspapers and magazines.

David Lee worked in magazines for 17 years, first as a researcher for Canadian Business and then for Hello! Canada, where he was assistant and associate photo editor. Now employed at the University of Toronto as a photo and video editor, he believes the thread that ties the different facets of his career together is his love of photography and visual media.

**Andrew Tolson** is an award-winning photographer and filmmaker. He was director of photography at Maclean’s from 2003 to 2015, after which he created the Rogers Media video unit, an award-winning team that produced content for Chatelaine, Maclean’s, Today’s Parent, Flare, Hello, and Sportsnet. Since 2018, he has been a freelance photographer and filmmaker based in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. He is also an award-nominated children’s book author.

PHOTO STORY

**Charla Jones** was a photojournalist for 15 years, working as a staff photographer at the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail. She spent several years as a foreign correspondent based out of India, Turkey, and the U.K. Since leaving journalism, she works as a psychotherapist in private practice.

**Jimmy Jeong** is a Korean-Canadian photojournalist based in Vancouver. His work has been recognized by the American Photographic Artists, Online Journalism Awards and Prix de la Photographie Paris. He is a founding member of Rogue Collective and a member of DiversifyPhoto. He is also a founding mentor with Room Up Front, a mentorship for aspiring BIPOC photojournalists in Canada. He is a previous winner of the NNA’s Special Recognition Citation.

**Julie Matus** is a photographer, editor and director of photography whose journalism career spanned more than 25 years. She has worked for the London Free Press, The Canadian Press, Metro Toronto, Torstar’s New Ventures and was the director of photography for Zoomer magazine. She currently works as a US-based senior sales executive.

JOHN WESLEY DAFOE AWARD for POLITICS

**Pierre Michaud** spent more than 25 years at Radio-Canada as a journalist, producer and digital product manager, contributing to major news coverage including multiple Olympic Games. His career spans television, radio and digital platforms, with a strong focus on newsroom innovation and audience-facing digital products. He now runs StudioMicho, a Montreal-based consultancy helping organizations navigate digital transformation and integrate AI into their workflows.

**Cybele Sack** is a strategy consultant, researcher, writer and editor. Her work has been published in The Globe and Mail, The New York Times and NOW Magazine and she has produced stories for CTV, CBC and TVO. She is an award-winning coach for entrepreneurs and startups in all sectors. She is an experienced editor for technical documents, journalism, academic initiatives and fiction.

**Judy Trinh** is a correspondent for CTV National News, based in Ottawa. She specializes in politics and investigations, with a commitment to covering stories on marginalized communities. She previously worked as an investigative journalist at CBC. She has been honoured with multiple nominations from the Canadian Screen Awards and National Magazine Awards as well as the Student Press Freedom Award from Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.

JOHN HONDERICH AWARD for PROJECT OF THE YEAR

**Elysia Bryan-Baynes** spent nearly two decades as an anchor, reporter and editor in Montreal. She has written dispatches and documentaries for globalnews.ca, and covered Quebec politics in the National Assembly. She is currently associated with the Global News Academy race and reporting course and mentors reporters through the Canadian Association of Black Journalists.

**Miro Cernetig** is the owner of CityAge, a global network bringing together leaders from government, business and civil society to work on challenges facing cities in a changing global economy. In his journalism career, he served as the Alberta, Vancouver, Beijing, and New York bureau chief for The Globe and Mail and was a columnist for The Vancouver Sun. He has directed documentaries for National Geographic, the CBC and other networks.

**Valérie Dufour** is a senior manager, strategic communications at the National Capital Commission in Ottawa. From 2011 to 2020, she worked at the Canadian Association of University Teachers and for the parliamentary communications team of the New Democratic Party. Prior to that, she was a political and investigative reporter in Montréal, where she worked at La Presse, La Voix de l’Est, Le Devoir, Le Journal de Montréal and RueFrontenac.ca.

BOB LEVIN AWARD for SHORT FEATURE

**Jack Aubry** worked as an award-winning journalist for various news organizations for more than a quarter century, mostly as a national writer on Parliament Hill. He won a National Newspaper Award for investigations in 1990 while at the Ottawa Citizen. He retired more recently as director of consultations and media relations for Finance Canada.

**Vass Bednar** is the Managing Director of the Canadian Shield Institute for Public Policy and the co-author of The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians.

**Martine St-Victor** is a communications strategist and general manager of Edelman in Montréal. She’s a monthly columnist at La Presse, is on Radio-Canada television and radio weekly and regularly on the CBC and CTV. She is a trustee on various boards and vice-chair of the Québec section of the International Women’s Forum. She’s also a guest lecturer at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Morocco. She was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2024.

SPECIAL TOPIC – Journalism in a language other than French or English

**Trevor Green** is a journalist and Indigenous scholar, who is affiliated with his mother’s Cowichan nation. He teaches reporting at Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Journalism and at Carleton University, for the Certificate in Journalism in Indigenous Communities. He is a PhD candidate at York University, researching relationships between journalism institutions, climate change and Indigenous communities. His documentary work has been produced at CBC Radio and other places.

**Trevor Wright** works for the Government of Nunavut and previously worked in journalism with APTN National News, Nunavut News and the Opasquia Times in The Pas, Manitoba. Reporting on issues impacting Inuit and First Nations, including coverage of the Nunavut Devolution Agreement, compensation for Cree trappers and fishers, the COVID-19 pandemic in Nunavut and Pope Francis’ apology to Inuit.

Daisy Xiong is a journalist based in Vancouver, specializing in business and cross-cultural reporting. She is a staff reporter at Business in Vancouver, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, CBC, Global TV, Vice Media, Richmond News, and the Chinese-language newspaper Sing Tao. She was a bronze recipient of the Ma Murray Community Newspaper Awards, a Joan Donaldson CBC News Scholar and an Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada Media Fellow.