Meet Steve

Steve Descano is the current Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney. He is a veteran, former federal prosecutor, husband, father, and proud Democrat.

Steve is a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army Aviation Officer. Following his time as an Army officer, Steve went to law school at Temple University. He graduated in 2010 earning honors as a member of the Temple Law Review and as a Fellow in Temple University’s Public Interest Law Honor Society.

Following his academic studies, Steve was recruited through the Attorney General’s Honors Program at the United States Department of Justice. He spent the next six years as a federal prosecutor in the Obama Administration—first as a Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and later as a Trial Attorney in both the Criminal Tax Division and the Consumer Protection Branch. During his time at the Justice Department, Steve aggressively pursued cases in which the privileged and corrupt leveraged their position to take advantage of the poor and vulnerable—successfully prosecuting embezzlement and extortion cases against perpetrators that preyed on immigrant populations and people with intellectual disabilities.      

In 2016, Steve moved on from the Justice Department, becoming the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at Paragon Autism Services. Steve led Paragon’s efforts to provide behavioral therapy to some of Virginia’s most vulnerable children—those who rely on Medicaid for treatment or don’t have access to the resources and support to adequately meet the needs associated with their Autism Spectrum Disorder.   

Before winning election as Commonwealth’s Attorney, Steve had long been an active member of the Fairfax County community. He was one of the initial members of the Fairfax County Police Civilian Review Panel, the oversight body tasked with conducting civilian oversight of the county police department. He also served on the board of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia (now REPRO Rising Virginia) and on the Fairfax County NAACP Criminal Justice Committee. A lifelong Democrat, Steve continues to be an active member of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee.

Steve is proud to have made his home in Fairfax County for the past 12 years. With Ryanne, his wife of 20 years, and his daughter Charlotte, he plans to continue to his work within this community to promote the principles of safety and justice that are necessary to improve the lives of every individual that calls Fairfax County home.

Use of military rank, titles, or photographs in uniform do not imply endorsement by the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.