National Press Club awards Catherine Deborah Davidson-Hiers its 2025 Shirley & Dennis Feldman Fellowship
The National Press Club has chosen Catherine Deborah (CD) Davidson-Hiers as the recipient of its 2025 Shirley & Dennis Feldman Fellowship. 
The award for graduate students is a one-time scholarship of $5,000.
Davidson-Hiers is an environmental journalist and graduate student at the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications.
The judges were impressed by her important work as a freelance journalist and former education reporter at the Tallahassee Democrat, in addition to her commitment to mentoring young writers.
Davidson-Hiers founded the Florida Student News Watch in 2020 to support the development of young writers through mentorship and also serves as the membership resources coordinator at the Education Writers Association.
“My graduate studies are not only strengthening my own work but are also equipping me with better leadership, editing, and reporting techniques to share with young journalists,” Davidson-Hiers wrote in her application essay.
Davidson-Hiers’ steadfast coverage of the local effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida garnered national attention, including recognition in the Washington Post and Poynter.
“CD’s work as a ‘one-woman help desk’ for anxious Floridians during the pandemic went viral,” said freelance journalist Kavitha Cardoza in a recommendation letter. “Her experiences … would have led most people to quit journalism. Not CD. She took time to process the experience, write about what she learned, and now advocates passionately for better care of reporters.”
Other recommendation letters from her colleagues and professors praised her dedicated leadership, zest for learning, and journalistic talent.
“I’ve seen firsthand how deeply CD cares about journalism and journalists and how to help reporters grow their skills while also taking care to grow her own,” said Steph Smith, content director at the Education Writers Association. “Her passion for journalism and growing and supporting reporters coupled with her work ethic will lead to great reporting that will better inform and engage the public.”
In addition to funding, scholarship winners are awarded one-year complimentary membership to the National Press Club.
“Journalism needs more thoughtful leaders like CD — ones who care deeply about giving back to the next generation of reporters,” said NPC President Mike Balsamo. “We are thrilled to support her as she continues her studies at UGA, while also managing a nonprofit and freelance journalism career.”
Club scholarships are administered by its nonprofit affiliate, the National Press Club Journalism Institute.
Scholarship winners are selected by a group of Scholarship Team volunteer judges, led by Team Leads Erin Looney and Caitlin Mullaney. The judges for the Shirley & Dennis Feldman Fellowship were Moira Gunn, Susan Heavey, Dan Moskowitz, and Jeff Plungis.