Deanna (she/her) spent more than 16 years in public media as an award-winning reporter, host and news director. Leaving behind the news business, she joined The Pittsburgh Foundation in 2017 as a communications officer. She is excited to tell the stories of the Foundation’s donors, organizations and individuals impacted by the Foundation, the Foundation's work and any other story that is ready to be told. Since 2017, she has been working to incorporate different storytelling methods including audio and video.
In college, Deanna was a student news reporter for the National Public Radio affiliate in Las Cruces, NM. After graduating from New Mexico State University with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communications, she went to Washington, D.C. where she was an intern for National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. From there, Deanna spent time reporting and hosting at NPR stations in Rochester, NY and Greeley, CO before finding her way to Pittsburgh’s NPR news station. In her six years at 90.5 WESA, Deanna’s roles included general assignment reporter, assistant news director, interim news director and senior reporter. She has won numerous awards, including several first-place Golden Quills from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. She also served on the board of directors of Public Radio News Directors Inc.
In her spare time, Deanna enjoys playing guitar, painting and watching The Golden Girls on a continuous loop.