Elizabeth Pendo Honored with 2026 Jay Healey Teaching Award
Elizabeth Pendo, the Kellye Y. Testy Professor of Law and Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs at the University of Washington School of Law, has received the 2026 Jay Healey Teaching Award, one of the nation's highest honors for excellence in health law education.
Presented in June at the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics (ASLME) Health Law Professors Conference, the award recognizes Dean Pendo's outstanding contributions to health law through her teaching, mentorship, scholarship and leadership in the field.
Named in memory of the late Jay Healey, a beloved professor at the University of Connecticut Schools of Law and Medicine, the award recognizes health law professors who have devoted a significant portion of their careers to teaching. The Jay Healey Teaching Award honors educators whose careers embody the ideals that Jay Healey represented: excellence in teaching, selfless mentorship, scholarly distinction and an ongoing commitment to improving the lives of students and colleagues.
Dean Pendo is a leader in disability law, health law and policy and bioethics. Her research focuses on disparities in health, health care and social drivers of health for people with disabilities, and obligations of providers, institutions, insurers and employers under health and anti-discrimination laws.
Pendo’s work has appeared in leading interdisciplinary journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs and the Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics, and she is a co-author of the widely adopted casebook Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems.
While Pendo's scholarship has shaped national conversations about disability and health equity, colleagues noted that her selection reflects something even more fundamental: the remarkable way she has invested in the success of others.
In presenting the award, ASLME leaders described Pendo as "a teacher's teacher and a scholar's scholar,” a reflection of both her academic excellence and her extraordinary generosity toward students, faculty and the broader profession. They noted that the qualities for which Jay Healey is remembered — integrity, compassion, collegiality, humility and a commitment to helping others succeed — are the same qualities that have defined Pendo's career.
Colleagues consistently describe her as someone who uses every leadership opportunity to lift others, particularly junior faculty and scholars from institutions that may not have the same national visibility. Pendo was recognized for her prolific support for colleagues' promotion and tenure, leadership appointments and academic and professional honors. She has created opportunities for established and emerging scholars alike by organizing and inviting them to conferences, symposia and workshops that elevate new voices and strengthen the health law community.
As UW Law, Pendo has earned a reputation as a thoughtful, compassionate leader who listens carefully, supports faculty members' professional aspirations and cultivates an environment where colleagues can thrive. Stacey Ann Tovino, the John B. Turner Chair in Law at the University of Oklahoma, noted that during a visit to UW Law for an external academic program review, faculty members repeatedly credited Pendo's kindness, generosity and encouragement for their own career advancement.
"Professor Pendo exemplifies one of the very best in legal education and interdisciplinary scholarship," said Dean Tamara F. Lawson. "She is an internationally respected scholar whose influence extends far beyond UW Law. Through her extraordinary mentorship, thoughtful leadership and unwavering commitment to students and faculty at all levels of the profession, Elizabeth continues to strengthen our law school and the entire health law community. This recognition is richly deserved."
The Jay Healey Teaching Award honors educators whose careers embody the ideals that Jay Healey represented: excellence in teaching, selfless mentorship, scholarly distinction and an ongoing commitment to improving the lives of students and colleagues.
"I am deeply honored to receive an award that celebrates a legacy of teaching, mentorship and generosity," Pendo said. "Health law is a collaborative field, and I have been fortunate to learn from remarkable colleagues and students throughout my career. This recognition reflects the many people who have shaped my own journey, and I remain committed to giving back to the community of health law scholars and educators that has supported, challenged and inspired me throughout my career.”
Since joining UW Law in 2023, Pendo has helped expand the law school's interdisciplinary initiatives while continuing to advance nationally recognized scholarship on disability rights, health equity and bioethics. She also serves as director of the school’s interdisciplinary Health Law & Policy Program and as a member of the executive council of the UW Population Health Initiative.
In recognizing Elizabeth Pendo, ASLME celebrates not only one of the nation's leading health law scholars, but also a mentor, leader and educator whose influence will be felt for years to come.