Tanya Abdelnour joined the Prosecuting Attorney’s Association of Michigan in December 2018 as Director of Child Abuse Prosecution Resources. Tanya began her legal career working for the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office in 1999 and left to join PAAM in 2018.  She spent fifteen of her nineteen years with Wayne County assigned to the Special Victims Unit (Formerly CFAB) and has handled assaultive and non-assaultive cases that included domestic assaults, child abuse, internet crimes against children and sexual assaults of minors and adults.

In 2010, Ms. Abdelnour began working extensively on the untested rape kit project as a member of the Special Victims Unit – Sexual Assault Team.  This led to her appointment as a Lead Attorney on the Wayne County Sexual Assault Kit Task Force in 2014 where she supervised the prosecutors handling the criminal prosecutions resulting from the Task Force investigations.   

Ms. Abdelnour has also spent time in the Juvenile Division and General Trial Division where she handled non-capital and capital case including robberies, car jackings and homicides. She has extensive felony trial experience, prosecuting all types of criminal cases, as well as years of practice making charging decisions on warrants, and handling preliminary examinations in various district courts. She has handled many high profile, criminal cases including numerous serial offenders, along with multiple-defendant cases.   

Ms. Abdelnour is a member of the State Bar of Michigan.  She is a graduate the University of Michigan – Dearborn where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1994.  She went on to receive her Juris Doctorate Degree from Michigan State University – Detroit College of Law in January 1999.   She is member of the Woman Lawyers Association of Michigan and an active participant with the Wayne County Sexual Assault Collaborative (WC-SAC).  Ms. Abdelnour has presented locally and nationally at various trainings and conferences on issues surrounding sexual assault as well as the issues related to the untested sexual assault kits.

Dana Deasy is the Violence Against Women Training Attorney. Dana practiced most recently as an assistant prosecuting attorney for the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office, where she handled special unit cases as well as general felonies and misdemeanors.  In the courtroom, she handled a wide variety of cases from homicides to forfeitures to sexual assaults.  Her special unit assignments included prosecuting domestic violence-related felonies and personal protection order violations in family court, narcotics and forfeiture, crimes against senior citizens, and animal cruelty.  She trained new assistant prosecutors and worked on a district court drug court team.  Prior to more than twelve years with Macomb County, Dana worked for the Michigan Attorney General’s Office where she spent over six years prosecuting tax enforcement and fraud cases, and child abuse and neglect cases. 

During her time as an assistant prosecuting attorney, Dana taught at the Macomb Police Academy, advanced detective schools, and provided training for the Macomb County Sheriff’s Department, Michigan State Police multijurisdictional task forces, and other professionals.  She holds a bachelor degree in Social Relations and American Public Affairs from James Madison College at Michigan State University.  She earned her Juris Doctor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio.    

Alexandra McGowan is the Conference Coordinator for the Violence Against Women Project Unit.  Alexandra joined PAAM in February 2020.  She splits her time between the VAWP unit and the Victim Service Training Unit (VSTU) where she also serves as the unit conference coordinator.