By unanimous vote, the Public Health Watch board of directors has installed two new top officers: Retired NPR correspondent Howard Berkes is now board chair, and political strategist Cliff Walker is vice chair.
“Howard is a remarkable journalist I’ve known for 15 years,” said PHW executive director and founder Jim Morris. “He helped get this organization started when it was little more than an intriguing idea. I’ve come to know Cliff over the past year and have been impressed by his knowledge and energy.”
Berkes succeeds Annette LoVoi, who has been PHW board chair for the past four years. “Annette has given more to us than I can adequately convey,” Morris said. “She opened her home for our first fundraiser and made countless introductions on our behalf. It’s reassuring to know she’ll remain on our board.”
Berkes, who lives in Salt Lake City, spent 38 years at NPR, where he garnered more than 40 journalism awards for investigative, science, business, sports, breaking news, health, rural and feature reporting. His investigative work focused on occupational safety and health, environmental health, workers’ compensation and the resurgence of black lung disease, including a previously unreported epidemic of severe black lung. The black lung investigations exposed decades of federal regulatory failure to control miner exposure to toxic silica dust; they led to tougher rules and prompted increased funding for black lung clinics that diagnose disease.
In 1986, Berkes and NPR colleague Daniel Zwerdling gave the first detailed account of the failed eleventh-hour effort to stop the fatal launch of the space shuttle Challenger. Berkes’s reporting in 1998 propelled a largely local story about influence-peddling into the worst ethics scandal in the history of the Olympic Games (he covered eight of them). He’s partnered with ProPublica, the Center for Public Integrity, PBS Frontline and local newspapers and public radio stations. He was awarded a Nieman Journalism Fellowship at Harvard University in 1997.
Though retired, Berkes maintains strong connections to public media. He recently narrated an NPR podcast episode marking the 40th anniversary of the Challenger disaster; it can be found here.
“Public Health Watch is a critical journalistic enterprise and its focus on public, environmental and occupational health is especially essential in an era of declining regulation,” Berkes said. “I’m committed to that mission and am honored to be able to help provide governance of PHW as it grows beyond its start-up stage. I look forward to supporting the hard-hitting and compelling reporting of PHW’s exceptional journalists. The Public Health Watch Governing Board is also exceptional, and I am excited about leading the board as it provides guidance and oversight.”
Walker, based in Austin, is a seasoned progressive strategist with 18 years of experience in campaign management, organization-building and candidate advising. In 2012, he spearheaded the Texas House Democratic campaign effort, and in 2014 helped launch Battleground Texas. Joining the Texas Democratic Party in 2015, he created Project LIFT, an initiative that recruited, trained and elected over 150 candidates to local, nonpartisan offices. Promoted to deputy executive director in 2019, Cliff guided strategic direction, shaped the party’s voice, and secured funding to sustain a robust team of over 250 campaign operatives and technical experts.
In 2021, Walker co-founded Seeker Strategies, a progressive, POC-owned public affairs firm where he currently advises labor, environmental and voting rights organizations, leveraging his deep expertise in strategic communications and political advocacy. A San Antonio native, he studied government at Yale University.
“I’m honored to step into the role of Vice Chair and to continue serving alongside such a thoughtful and committed group of leaders,” Walker said. “I look forward to partnering with Howard and Jim to advance PHW’s mission, grow our base of individual supporters, and expand our national reach. The work ahead matters deeply to me, and I’m fully committed to ensuring that our organizational strength and sustainability reflect the urgency of our cause.”
Austin-based Public Health Watch, which will turn five years old this summer, has won more than 15 journalism awards and has achieved tangible impact through its investigations. Details can be found here.