Awards & Honors
A Working Record Earned Across a Long Career
Recognition from newsrooms, the legal community, libraries, and book awards programs.
Journalism & Public Service
Claude Pepper National Award for Investigative Reporting
National recognition for investigative work in daily newspaper journalism.
Award for Investigative Reporting
Nevada Press Association
Won two years running for reporting in Las Vegas.
Armand Arabian Law and Media Award
Valley Legal Community Foundation, Los Angeles · 2010
Honoring work at the intersection of the courts and the press.
Honorable Mention in Nonfiction
Council for Wisconsin Writers · 2010
For Anatomy of a Trial, her account of the O.J. Simpson case.
Most Valuable PR Pro
Professional Communicators of Los Angeles · 1996
Recognized during her tenure as the court's first Public Information Officer.
College of Communications Alumni Wall of Fame
California State University, Fullerton
Named to her alma mater's honor roll of alumni in communications.
Along with more than twenty additional journalism awards, and national honors to the Los Angeles Superior Court for projects she co-produced.
For Her Books
Valiant Vel: Vel Phillips and the Fight for Fairness and Equality has received national and regional recognition for its contribution to children’s nonfiction and civil rights history, including:
Wisconsin Library Association — 2026 Outstanding Children’s Books of the Year
Wisconsin Library Association
Named to the 2026 list.
Announced June 30, 2026
Silver Winner — IBPA Book Awards
Independent Book Publishers Association
38th Annual Awards, Middle Grade/Young Adult Nonfiction (Benjamin Franklin Award™).
Announced May 15, 2026
Finalist — Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards
Foreword Reviews
Juvenile Nonfiction category (2025 awards).
Announced March 5, 2026
Great Reads from Great Places, 2026
Wisconsin Center for the Book
Selected as Wisconsin’s representative title and featured at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.
2026
The New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2025
The New York Public Library
Selected for the annual Best Books list.
Announced November 20, 2025