From prosecutor to journalist.

The professions are surprisingly similar — constant observation, flawless fact finding, analyzing details and context, and often speaking for those who cannot. The law gave Deanna the background and tools to shape the stories she continues to tell outside the courtroom.

Deanna started her career with History and English degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating from Fordham University School of Law, she spent six years working as an assistant district attorney in New York City.

In law, Deanna was initially assigned to the Major Crimes Division’s Domestic Violence Bureau, followed by a Felony Trial Bureau. As lead counsel responsible for all stages of litigation — trials, investigations, evidentiary hearings and grand jury presentations — she handled dozens of violent crimes, including gang assault, burglary and robbery.

The next major phase in her career was joining the Special Victims Bureau and specializing in child homicides, violent crimes against children and felony sex crimes.

Deanna has tried more than 20 cases to verdict, ranging from abusive head trauma to a child who was beaten to death, and prosecuted over 200 cases from investigation to disposition. In addition to her litigation experience, Deanna has taught as an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at Fordham Law.

In 2017, Deanna made the leap to pursue writing full time. After graduating from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, she joined The Washington Post, covering national and breaking news. She was also part of the newspaper's team that was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting, revealing the vast number of unsolved homicides in America’s major cities. Deanna was also a legal affairs correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and, in 2022, received the New York Press Club Award for political reporting and the Newswoman’s Club of New York's Front Page Award for her reporting in the wake of the ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.