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Tani Austin, Starkey’s vice chair and co-founder of Starkey Hearing Foundation, has been named a 2026 Herizon Award honoree by the Business Intelligence Group. Her work includes expanding access to hearing care and supporting training programs that have graduated more than 200 students since 2016.
Tani Austin, vice chair of Starkey and co-founder of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, has been named a 2026 Herizon Award honoree by the Business Intelligence Group. The recognition cites her more than three decades of humanitarian work to expand access to hearing healthcare and support communities around the world.
According to the announcement reported by The Hearing Review, Austin’s work has helped more than one million people address hearing loss over more than three decades of volunteer activity. The source describes her approach as combining access to hearing technology with education, professional training and care designed to be sustained within local communities.
A central part of that work has been building a pipeline of hearing-care professionals in regions where services are limited. Working alongside Starkey founder and chairman Bill Austin, Tani Austin has supported Starkey Hearing Institute programs in Zambia, the Philippines and El Salvador, which prepare professionals to provide care in their own communities.
The institute in Lusaka, Zambia, opened in 2016. Since then, the programs have graduated more than 200 students from over 17 countries, according to the source. The report says graduates are working to address shortages of hearing-care professionals and develop local capacity; it does not provide employment or patient-outcome figures.
Training Local Hearing-Care Teams
The award highlights a model of humanitarian work that goes beyond distributing hearing technology: it also seeks to build local skills and services. Training professionals within underserved regions can support continued access to care after a specific outreach effort ends, although the source does not quantify the programs’ long-term effects.
For readers, the recognition also draws attention to the workforce challenge behind hearing healthcare. Access depends not only on devices, but on trained people and community systems able to provide services. The reported graduates and participating countries offer a measure of the program’s reach, while the broader impact remains difficult to assess from the available information.
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Austin’s Work Beyond Hearing Care
Austin’s humanitarian activity also extends beyond audiology. The report says she has supported philanthropic initiatives and partnerships involving Special Olympics and UNICEF. It also notes her work related to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care through board service with the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Rocket Fund.
The Herizon Awards are presented by the Business Intelligence Group to recognize women whose leadership and innovation are described as changing organizations, industries and communities. The announcement is part of a broader set of recent recognitions for Starkey leadership: the source says Starkey president and CEO Brandon Sawalich and the company received 2026 BIG Innovation Awards, and the company also received a 2026 Excellence in Customer Service Award.
““True impact is measured not only by the lives we touch today, but by what we make possible for generations to come.””
— Brandon Sawalich, Starkey president and CEO
Award and Program Details Pending
The source report does not give the award presentation date, ceremony details, or the full list of 2026 Herizon Award honorees. It also does not explain the selection process or provide an award citation beyond describing Austin’s leadership in global hearing healthcare.
Figures on people helped and student graduates are reported in the source, but it gives no methodology, time breakdown, or independent evaluation. The number of graduates does not by itself establish how many remain in the field, what services they provide, or how many patients they reach.
Awaiting Ceremony and Further Results
The award announcement identifies Austin as a 2026 honoree, but the source does not state when the awards will be presented or whether additional details will be released. Further information from the Business Intelligence Group or Starkey could clarify the ceremony, the full honoree list and the basis for the selection.
For the hearing-institute programs, the next measurable developments would include updated enrollment and graduation figures, as well as information on graduates’ work and the communities served. No new program expansion or schedule is specified in the report.
Key Questions
Who is Tani Austin?
Tani Austin is vice chair of Starkey and co-founder of the Starkey Hearing Foundation. The report describes more than three decades of humanitarian work associated with expanding hearing-care access.
Who named Austin a 2026 Herizon Award honoree?
The Business Intelligence Group named Austin a 2026 Herizon Award honoree. The source does not provide the presentation date or details of the selection process.
What are the Starkey Hearing Institute programs?
They are training programs in Zambia, the Philippines and El Salvador intended to prepare hearing-care professionals to serve their own communities. The Lusaka institute opened in 2016; the source reports more than 200 graduates from over 17 countries across the programs.
How many people has Austin’s work helped?
The source says Austin’s work has helped more than one million people address hearing loss. It does not provide a measurement method or a detailed time period beyond describing her volunteer work as spanning more than three decades.
Source: hearingreview.com
