DANIELLE LERNER ABC 15 Ever heard the term “local boy done good?” In ABC 15’s Danielle Lerner’s case, it’s more like local girl done great. Lerner moved to Scottsdale at age 12 and considers it home. After graduating from Chaparral High School in 2002, she attended Saint Mary’s College in Indiana, studying communications and English with the intent of entering law school. “My mom suggested I try an internship with a local news station to hone my writing skills, and it ended up changing the entire course of my life,” Lerner says. She then set her sights on broadcast journalism with the goal of one day reporting news in Phoenix. After getting her master’s degree from Northwestern University, her journey back home started in San Luis Obispo, where she earned her first reporting job in 2008. “When a morning anchor position opened at News 4 in Tucson, I jumped at the chance to get back to Arizona,” says Lerner, who had the opportunity to cover congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ remarkable recovery after the 2011 Tucson shooting. And then, in 2014, Lerner’s dream came true when a position opened at ABC 15. She earned the job and has since served in various roles, most recently anchoring the weekend evening news and reporting for different newscasts. The station has received multiple Rocky Mountain Emmys for overall excellence in the past five years, and Lerner herself has won a Rocky Mountain Emmy and been nominated in several categories, including best anchor. Today, Lerner juggles her reporting duties with a new role as a board member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter, the governing body of the Rocky Mountain Emmys – and an even bigger job. “My husband and I have a 2-yearold, Addison, and 4-month-old, Harper, at home,” Lerner says. “Send coffee!” 2019 nomination: Talent anchor news.
So Scottsdale! September ‘19
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