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Photos from the 13th Annual Washington Women in Journalism Awards

The 13th Annual Washington Women in Journalism Awards kicked off White House Correspondents’ Weekend with an elegant evening celebrating journalism.

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The 2026 Washington Women in Journalism Award honorees: Shannon Bream, Priscilla Alvarez, Judy Woodruff, and Missy Ryan

The 13th Annual Washington Women in Journalism Awards kicked off White House Correspondents’ Weekend with an elegant evening celebrating journalism. Washingtonian and Story Partners welcomed 500 guests to the Larz Anderson House on Thursday, April 23, 2026, to honor this year’s award recipients: Judy Woodruff, Shannon Bream, Missy Ryan, and Priscilla Alvarez.

On the Larz Anderson House patio attendees sipped cocktails, mocktails provided by PepsiCo, and sampled delicious bites from Ridgewells Catering. DJ Franky kept the energy high with a women-centered tracklist, while inside, guests rested in seated lounges provided by Something Vintage.

The awards presentation opened with remarks from National Retail Federation CEO Matt Shay, who highlighted the essential role journalism plays in keeping the public informed. Story Partners’ Chair Gloria Story Dittus then thanked all 18 event sponsors for their contributions to the evening. Before the honorees took the stage, Washingtonian President and CEO Cathy Merrill introduced them with thoughtful remarks highlighting their significant contributions to the field of journalism. 

Congratulations to this year’s distinguished honorees:

  • Judy Woodruff, PBS, Hall of Fame Achievement 
  • Shannon Bream, FOX News, Outstanding Journalism in Broadcast
  • Missy Ryan, The Atlantic, Outstanding Journalist in Print
  • Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Star to Watch

We are grateful to our event sponsors for making the evening possible: National Retail Federation, American Beverage Association, American Council of Life Insurers, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Alibaba, Amazon, American Petroleum Institute, Bayer, Consumer Brand Association, Delta, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, National Association of Manufacturers, NextEra Energy, PepsiCo, PhRMA, Southern Company, and TOYOTA.

A special thank you to our wonderful vendor partners: The Society of the Cincinnati (Larz Anderson House), Ridgewells Catering, Trebella Events LLC, Something Vintage Rentals, Scoops2U, Extraordinary Events, Sarah Edwards/Visual Design Pro and DJ Franky J.

We’d also like to thank our drink partners for the evening: Constellation Brands, KRAVE, and Poppi (PepsiCo).

Photographs by Daniel Swartz, Stacey Salter Moore, and Evy Mages.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer with honoree Priscilla Alvarez, Claudia Alvarez, Fernando Alvarez and Sebastian Alvarez
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell with Norm Ornstein
Story Partners’ Gloria Story Dittus, Fox News’ Shannon Bream, CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez, PBS’ Judy Woodruff, The Atlantic’s Missy Ryan, and Washingtonian’s Cathy Merrill
Attendees with 2026 honoree Judy Woodruff and NBC’s Andrea Mitchell
Story Partners’ Gloria Dittus, NRF’s Matt Shay, and Washingtonian’s Cathy Merrill
2026 honoree Shannon Bream with Sheldon Bream
Past honoree’s Elisabeth Bumiller (The New York Times) and Mary Louise Kelly (NPR)
Judy Woodruff accepts award
Toyota’s Zach Reed with Susan Reed
Scoops2U created custom sponsor cookies
Congressman Joe Crowley, Kasey Crowley, Kenzie Crowley, and Microsoft’s Fred Humphries
Katie Zirkelbach, Meredith McPhilips, and PhRMA’s Robby Zirkelbach
2026 honoree Judy Woodruff and Story Partners’ Gloria Story Dittus
Delta’s Lisa Hanna, Jennifer Dunn and Brad Bosserman
Women in Journalism event at the Larz Anderson House
Consumer Brands Association’s Genna Gent, Natalie Rubino, Rhonda Bentz, Melissa Hockstead, and Jocelyn Kelly
A big thank you to this year’s event sponsors for their support of women in journalism
Bayer’s Sue Ann Pentecost, Amber Lyons, and Beth Roden
Bar drinks provided by Constellations Beverages, KRAVE Cocktail Seltzer, and PepsiCo
The 2026 honoree awards
ACLI’s David Chavern, Suzanne Chavern, and Mircosoft’s Fred Humphries
The Larz Anderson House provided the perfect setting for the evening
Casey Gannon, Kate Bennett, Paula Reid, and Past honoree Meridith McGraw
Nicole Malliotakis, Lynda Carter, and Cathy Merrill
Bites from Ridgewells
Tasty treats from Ridgewells
The Washington Women in Journalism Past Honorees
Christine Burgeson, Jo Manley, Delta’s Heather Wingate and 2026 honoree Shannon Bream
Toyota displayed their new 4Runner Trailhunter
The Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation served as the charity partner of the event
Fallen Journalist Foundation’s Barbara Cochran, PBS’ Judy Woodruff, and Story Partner’s Gloria Story Dittus
Karen Knutson and Medal of Honor recipient Will Swenson
2026 honoree Missy Ryan giving remarks
Guests enjoyed resting in the sponsor lounges
Will Nance, Noah Jackson, Paul Riley
NRF’s Matt Shay kicks off remarks
Priscilla Alvarez enjoys chatting with Judy Woodruff and Cathy Merrill
Women in Journalism event at the Larz Anderson House
Leslie Hunter, Kirstin Garriss
Sarah Mucha and Marianna Sotomayor
Getty Images Andy Harnik and Eden’s Elizabeth Harnik
Bob Coffey, Anne Proctor, Christine Ryan, Marie Griffin
DJ Franky J
Larz Anderson House
Gloria Dittus, Jocelyn Kelly, Sam Srochi
Abisola Oyedokun, Erica Aquilina, Karlie Langton
Story Partners and Washingtonian take-away mints
Guests could enjoy peaking through Washingtonian‘s May issue
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Hannah Guy-Mozenter
Hannah Guy-Mozenter
Manager, Marketing & Events