Arizona Law Third-Year Law Student Renee Redshirt Named 2026 Grand Prize Winner of the AzSHA Scholars Program
The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law celebrates third-year law student Renee Redshirt for being named the Grand Prize Winner of the 2026 Arizona Society of Healthcare Attorneys (AzSHA) Scholars Program. Redshirt was selected for her background in public health, commitment to health equity, and her vision for the practice of health law in underserved communities.
The AzSHA Scholars Program, held in collaboration with the The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law and Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, recognizes exceptional third-year health law students. Each law school selects three scholars who receive access to AzSHA Board meetings, in-person and virtual programming, and the annual AzSHA conference. Scholars also have the opportunity to contribute to AzSHA’s blog, further engaging with critical healthcare legal issues.
This opportunity is made possible through the ongoing efforts of the Health Law & Policy Program, led by Faculty Director Tara Sklar, which promotes the scholarship among health law students, guides applicants through the process, and nominates finalists to AzSHA, a partnership now entering its third year.
Joining Redshirt as Arizona Law’s AzSHA Scholars this year are third-year law students Braydon Mathis and Jack Dias.
“Receiving this award is an honor,” says Redshirt. “It is a confirmation for me, of who I am, where I have come from, my journey to get here and the path going forward, this feels like a huge support to that.”
Redshirt brings a decade of public health experience to her legal studies, having earned her Master of Public Health before law school, including work in behavioral health, injury, and substance use prevention research, community assessment, and federal policy coordination.
Her path to law school was shaped early by her upbringing as Diné on the Navajo Nation, where she witnessed firsthand how tribal, federal, and state systems, along with history, impacted access to health care.
“In our culture, language, land and kinship relationships are inseparable from well-being,” says Redshirt. “That background shaped my understanding of health law as a multidisciplinary field encompassing hospitals, regulation and compliance, as well as the policies, institutions and systems that influence health outcomes and access to care.”
Community engagement has remained central throughout Redshirt’s career where she has used writing and public education to make complex issues more accessible, and turned to creative advocacy through media, including filmmaking, to bring underrepresented voices into conversations that shape law, policy, and health
“That commitment has sustained my long-term investment in the health care space and continues to shape how I will show up as a lawyer,” says Redshirt.
After graduation, she plans to build a career focused on improving access to care and strengthening the systems that serve rural and underserved communities, with an interest in working in government, public interest or a health law practice group that provides her with broad exposure to a wide range of health care matters.
“I want to ensure that my commitment to working with people and building partnerships remains part of my professional life wherever I begin my career,” says Redshirt. “Community engagement and collaborative advocacy are critical to the practice of health law. Therefore, I want to continue serving on boards or committees, partnering with nonprofits, and contributing to community-engaged efforts that bridge communities and their leaders, identify gaps and needs, and help ensure solutions are responsive to lived realities.”