Ellen Austin, MJE, of Rockford, Illinois, is the 2026 Linda S. Puntney Teacher Inspiration Award winner. She will be honored at the Spring JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in Minneapolis.

Austin retired from teaching in 2022 after teaching journalism for 23 years, eight in Minnesota and the rest in California, most recently at The Harker School in San Jose. She then launched Birch Avenue Creative and works as a consultant for multiple organizations, including Press Pass NYC, Journalistic Learning Initiative, and the Center for Community News. She is also an adjunct instructor at Kent State university, teaching the reporting, writing and editing course to master’s degree candidates in journalism education.

Michael Abrams first met Austin in 2009 when she taught his beginning journalism class at Palo Alto High School in California. He is now a journalism teacher at the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. At the JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in Philadelphia in fall 2024, they reconnected after he recognized her voice while she was mentoring another journalism adviser and reintroduced himself.

“Since that convention, Ellen has continued to mentor me on her own time as I work to build a top-tier journalism program at my school,” Abrams said. “She has spent countless hours on Zoom calls with me, strategizing, advising and even joining my classes to speak directly to my students. I’ve never met anyone whose advice so consistently leads to success. Every suggestion Ellen offers is grounded in experience, empathy and excellence, and following her guidance has transformed both my teaching and my confidence as an adviser.”

Kenzie O’Keefe was Austin’s student at Saint Paul Academy in Minnesota, in 2006-07. Today she leads ThreeSixty Journalism, a multimedia journalism training program for a diverse cross-section of Minnesota high school students, housed at the University of St. Thomas.

“My inspiration to launch the program came, in part, from the education I received from Ellen,” O’Keefe said.”I believe high school students can be their communities’ reporters, taking on tough situations and high-stakes topics, because Ellen taught me it was possible.”

Austin and O’Keefe organized a national gathering of scholastic journalism nonprofits in October 2024.

“Ellen pulled together the partners and facilitated the experience with wisdom, brilliance and an innovative spirit,” O’Keefe said. “Thanks to her, I now have a national network of peers and a belief that the future of scholastic journalism is bright.”

O’Keefe said Austin is an exceptional teacher who sets extraordinarily high standards and equips students to meet them.

“I have spent my career working with underestimated students who come from communities that experience systemic underinvestment,” O’Keefe said. “Inspired by Ellen, I have come to believe that the greatest value I can provide to my students is showing them that I believe that they can be successful at the highest level and by giving them an education that gets them there.”

Lara Bergen, founder of Press Pass NYC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to training and supporting new journalism advisers in New York City, said Austin has provided hands-on support that continues to strengthen the organization’s capacity to serve new advisers.

“The Puntney Award recognizes teachers who inspire others to pursue journalism education as a career, and Ellen has done exactly that for me and countless others,” Bergen said. “She has demonstrated that journalism education is not merely about teaching skills but about building community, fostering equity and creating pathways for those who might not otherwise have access to quality journalism instruction.”