Steve Descano was sworn in as the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax in January 2020. He is a veteran, former federal prosecutor, husband, and father.
Since taking office, Steve has undertaken a reform agenda aimed at mitigating racial and socioeconomic disparities and countering mass incarceration in Fairfax County’s Justice System - while keeping our communities safe. Under his leadership, the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney has stopped requesting cash bail, implemented a new sentencing policy to address mass incarceration, and restructured the office to produce accountability around reforms, among other initiatives.
A West Point graduate, Steve served as a U.S. Army Aviation Officer before putting himself through law school and becoming a federal prosecutor. He served in the Obama Administration’s Justice Department for six years, specializing in the prosecution of complex financial crimes.
After his work in the Justice Department, Steve was selected as the Fairfax County NAACP’s first nominee to the County’s Police Civilian Review Panel. He also worked to help families throughout the region as the Chief Operations Officer and General Counsel at Paragon Autism Services, Northern Virginia’s premiere provider of Applied Behavior Analysis therapy for children with Autism.
Steve lives in Burke with his wife, Ryanne, and his daughter, Charlotte.