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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. The recognition cites her humanitarian work expanding access to hearing care, including efforts to train hearing professionals in underserved regions.
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 award recognizes her leadership in expanding access to hearing healthcare and supporting community-based services, according to the announcement reported by The Hearing Review.
Austin’s work spans more than three decades of humanitarian efforts. The source report says she has helped more than one million people address hearing loss, through an approach that links access to hearing technology with education, professional training and locally sustainable care. The report does not provide a breakdown of that total or describe how the number was measured.
One part of the work is building hearing-care capacity in underserved areas. Working alongside Starkey founder and chairman Bill Austin, Tani Austin has helped develop a model intended to train professionals in communities where access to care is limited. Starkey Hearing Institute programs in Zambia, the Philippines and El Salvador prepare students to provide services in their own communities.
The Starkey Hearing Institute opened in Lusaka, Zambia, in 2016. Since then, its programs have graduated more than 200 students from over 17 countries, according to the report. Austin’s other humanitarian and philanthropic work includes collaborations with Special Olympics and UNICEF, as well as service on the boards of the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Rocket Fund, which supports HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care.
Training Local Hearing-Care Teams
The recognition draws attention not only to hearing technology, but to the people and infrastructure needed to deliver care. Training professionals in the regions where they will work can help communities build local capacity, rather than relying only on visiting services. The reported institute graduates offer one measure of that effort, though the source does not report how many are currently practicing or what outcomes their work has produced.
For readers, the award also signals how humanitarian programs can connect equipment access with education and workforce development. The Business Intelligence Group’s recognition is an award announcement, not an independent evaluation of the programs’ reach or effectiveness. The stated one-million figure and descriptions of lasting community impact come from the source report and Starkey’s account of Austin’s work.
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The Institute’s Eight-Year Record
Austin’s award is tied to a broader body of work at Starkey and its foundation. The company’s stated model combines hearing technology with education, training and community-based services. The institute in Lusaka, which opened in 2016, is a concrete example of that approach: students from multiple countries have graduated through programs intended to address shortages of hearing-care professionals in underserved regions.
The Herizon Awards are presented by the Business Intelligence Group to recognize women whose leadership and innovation affect organizations, industries and communities. The announcement follows other 2026 recognition for Starkey leadership: the report 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. These are separate honors and do not independently establish the impact of Austin’s humanitarian programs.
““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 Details and Impact Measures
The source report does not state when the award ceremony will take place, whether honorees will receive individual citations, or what selection criteria the Business Intelligence Group applied to Austin. It also does not give details behind the reported figure of more than one million people helped, such as the time period, method of counting or services included.
Other outcome information remains unavailable in the report. It does not say how many institute graduates are currently working in hearing care, how many patients they serve, or what measurable changes have followed their training. The award recognizes Austin’s leadership, but it should not be read as a published assessment of those outcomes.
Further Award Information to Come
The next expected developments are details from the Business Intelligence Group about the 2026 Herizon Awards, including any ceremony date and honoree program information. The supplied report does not announce a forthcoming event or give a timeline for additional details.
Further information from Starkey or the institute could clarify the award citation and provide updated figures on graduates, their work and the communities served. Until such information is released, the confirmed development is Austin’s selection as an honoree and the background figures reported by The Hearing Review.
Key Questions
Who is Tani Austin?
Austin is vice chair of Starkey and co-founder of the Starkey Hearing Foundation. The report describes her as a humanitarian leader whose work has focused on hearing healthcare and other philanthropic initiatives.
What is the 2026 Herizon Award?
The Business Intelligence Group presents the Herizon Awards to recognize women whose leadership and innovation are changing organizations, industries and communities.
Why was Austin named an honoree?
The announcement cites her decades of work to expand global access to hearing care, support community-based services and develop hearing-care professionals in underserved regions.
How many students have graduated from the Starkey Hearing Institute programs?
The source report says the programs have graduated more than 200 students representing over 17 countries since the institute opened in Lusaka in 2016. It does not provide a current employment or patient-service count for graduates.
When will the award be presented?
The source report does not give a ceremony date or other presentation details. Those remain unconfirmed in the available information.
Source: hearingreview.com
