![California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly speaks at a press conference in the California State Capitol following the first COVID-19 death in California. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters](https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/030420_NewsomCoronavirus_AW_sized_07.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
![Avatar photo](https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/cropped-Kristen-Hwang-300x300.jpg)
Kristen Hwang is a health reporter for CalMatters covering health care access, abortion and reproductive health, workforce issues, drug costs and emerging public health matters. Her series on soaring rates of maternal and congenital syphilis won a first place award from the Association of Health Care Journalists. Her recent work has also been recognized by the Sacramento Press Club and Asian American Journalism Association.
Prior to joining CalMatters, Kristen earned a master’s degree in journalism from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and a master of public health degree from Berkeley’s School of Public Health. Her graduate student research focused on water quality in the Central Valley and uncovered chemicals related to fracking in drinking water wells. During the pandemic, she joined a team of graduate student journalists contributing to the New York Times COVID-19 data tracker and West Coast coverage. While at Berkeley, Kristen also directed and produced “When They’re Gone,” a short documentary on migratory beekeepers and sustainable agriculture. “When They’re Gone” won the 2021 Student Academy Award and has screened at festivals around the world.
Kristen is based in the Sacramento area. She has worked as a reporter in Washington, D.C., Arizona, Alabama and California. She cut her teeth as a beat reporter at The Desert Sun in Palm Springs covering education and criminal justice. There she also worked with a team to investigate the impact of Proposition 47, a California criminal justice sentencing reform ballot measure. Kristen directed a documentary for the Prop. 47 project that won an Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association.
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![California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly speaks at a press conference in the California State Capitol following the first COVID-19 death in California. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters](https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/030420_NewsomCoronavirus_AW_sized_07.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
![A pharmacy tech, at the bottom right side of the frame and wearing teal scrubs, fills prescriptions in front of a row of shelves with pill bottles at La Clinica in Oakland.](https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/092619_La-Clinica_AW_CM_06.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
![A pharmacy tech, at the bottom right side of the frame and wearing teal scrubs, fills prescriptions in front of a row of shelves with pill bottles at La Clinica in Oakland.](https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/092619_La-Clinica_AW_CM_06.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
![Sally K., thirty-eight weeks pregnant, waits for her check-up at the Best Start Birthing Center in San Diego on March 20, 2024. Photo by Ariana Drehsler for CalMatters](https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/032024_Best-Start-Birthing_AD_CM_009.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
![Sally K., thirty-eight weeks pregnant, waits for her check-up at the Best Start Birthing Center in San Diego on March 20, 2024. Photo by Ariana Drehsler for CalMatters](https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/032024_Best-Start-Birthing_AD_CM_009.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
![Vice President Kamala Harris, wearing a blue pant suit and beige shirt, stands in front of a dais with microphones from members of the press.](https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/031424_Kamala-Reproductive-Health_AP_CM_01.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
![Vice President Kamala Harris, wearing a blue pant suit and beige shirt, stands in front of a dais with microphones from members of the press.](https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/031424_Kamala-Reproductive-Health_AP_CM_01.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
![A person sits in a medical chair while they're hooked up to a dialysis machine.](https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/092418-Dialysis-Center-AP-CM.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
![A person sits in a medical chair while they're hooked up to a dialysis machine.](https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/092418-Dialysis-Center-AP-CM.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
![A doctor treats a patient at Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo on Jan. 27, 2022. Photo by Shannon Stapleton, Reuters](https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/012822-Doctors-Offfice-Medical-REUTERS-CM.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)