Duval County Judge Audrey Moran is the 2025 recipient of the Daily Record’s William J. Sheppard Lifetime Achievement Award, named in honor of the late Bill Sheppard, an attorney whose 50-year legal career was devoted to protecting the disadvantaged and vulnerable.
“Bill was a true Jacksonville giant—someone who lived with purpose, radiated compassion and held a steady light toward justice and human dignity,” Daily Record Publisher Angie Campbell said.
Campbell said Moran was chosen for her more than four decades of service to the people of Jacksonville in the areas of law, government, health, philanthropy and community development.
“She is inspired by those who are willing to stand up for what is right, even when it’s hard or unpopular, and by those who choose to lead with love. She recently received the Frederick H. Schultz Lifetime Achievement Award from Leadership Jacksonville, where she reminded us: ‘When you lead with love, it is never about you. It is about what is best for others,’” Campbell said.
The Daily Record debuted the award at JBA’s Law Day 2022.
“It is humbling to receive an award named after Bill Sheppard. He understood the importance of justice and speaking the truth to power. There hasn’t been a more important time for lawyers to stand up and speak,” Moran said.
She began her legal career in private practice before joining the State Attorney’s Office, where she became director of County Court, worked in the Homicide Unit and was the founding director of the Special Assault Unit—an early signal of her commitment to protecting the vulnerable, Campbell said.
In city government, Moran was an aide to former Mayors Ed Austin and John Delaney.
She is a former president and CEO of the Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless, and later was senior vice president at Baptist Health and president of the Baptist Health Foundation.
In 2023, Moran began the latest chapter in her legal career when she was sworn in as a Duval County judge, succeeding her husband, Judge John Moran.
“Audrey Moran is a trailblazer, a change maker and a public servant in the truest sense. Her life’s work reflects the same values that Bill Sheppard held dear—compassion, courage, justice and love,” Campbell said.