We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Danalyn Savage. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Danalyn below.
Danalyn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One deeply underappreciated facet of being a service provider is the kind of crazy stuff that happens from time to time. It could be anything from a disgruntled client attacking an employee or waking up to find out a celebrity gave you a shoutout on TikTok – the sudden, unexpected hits (both positive and negative) make the profession both exhilarating and exhausting. Can you share one of your craziest stories?
No one in my family was an attorney. I didn’t know any attorneys.
But I went to law school anyway, graduating in 2005. From Virginia where my law school was located, I moved to Phoenix, Arizona to study for the bar exam. I have family in Phoenix, but was on my own with studying for the bar exam. I did not know any attorneys in the city and had no prospects for work. After taking the bar exam in July 2005, I started sending out letters to try to get interviews.
Only one firm interviewed me. Westover Law Offices was a small firm that did insurance defense and personal injury cases. At my interview, I met with William Westover and he hired me as a paralegal pending my bar exam results. I was so grateful that he was willing to take a chance on me.
In October 2005, the bar results were posted. I passed – the first time! Starting as an associate at the firm, I began learning the ropes. However, in September 2006, everything changed for me. Mr. Westover went missing after going flying to Sedona in his plane over the weekend. The following Monday, Mrs. Westover called to see if we had heard from her husband. We had not.
As the only other attorney at the firm, I was immediately overwhelmed. Communicating with the court and trying to make sense of the cases flooded me with anxiety and insecurity. My boss’ father, a legendary attorney in the city, came in and began the process to close out the firm, while I assisted him. He generously provided me a three month severance since he knew it would be difficult for me to find a new job as such an inexperienced attorney.
Unfortunately, nearly all of the interviews I received came from people hoping to get some gossip about what had happened. I refused to play that game because of my deep appreciation for what Mr. Westover had done for me.
For the next two and a half months, I searched for a new job, while working for an aerial photography company to try and cover my bills. One interview felt promising, and they even made me an offer. But, in the process of the interview, I was sexually harassed and was told that I could come to work naked. Disgusted, I asked my then boyfriend (now husband) what I should do. Could I afford to say no?! He encouraged me to not compromise my values and not accept their offer. With my bills mounting and going deeper in debt, I passed on my only option. I felt completely and utterly out of control.
However, a few weeks later, an acquaintance told me that the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office was hiring. Despite the fact that my worst grade in law school came in my criminal law class, I applied for a prosecutor position. After a series of interviews and nearly six months after Mr. Westover’s plane disappeared, I was offered a position as a Deputy County Attorney.
After months of working through the trauma of losing my boss in a plane crash and the stress of being unable to keep up with my bills, I was finally working as a prosecutor in February of 2007.
In April 2009, my husband emailed me a news story that he said I had to check out. Mr. Westover’s plane had been located and the mystery was solved. While the gossip had been he ran away with someone, both bodies were found in the plane and those families finally found some peace and closure.
Danalyn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I grew up in a small town in Western NY. I like to joke that my hometown has more cows than people. Growing up with 100 inches of snow each year taught me how to be strong and hearty in the midst of struggles. I played basketball throughout high school. Additionally, I got deeply involved in the music program, playing the flute and multiple saxophones, and graduated with music honors. It was privilege to play the flute in the pit orchestra for the school musicals.
During the summers, I did yard work, gardened, stacked wood for the winter, and helped my dad put roofs on houses for extra money for our family. As a school teacher, my dad worked summer jobs in order make sure we had what we needed to live. I learned the art of hard work at an early age, especially when our family was on food stamps. While I learned many lessons from small town life, I had a vision to leave that small town because it felt stifling, especially in light of my desire to travel and make my mark on the world. As a 17 year old, I even had the audacity to say that I was going to law school and wanted to become an elected official. Big dreams for a small town girl!
Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, New York became my home for four years of college. After serving as the team manager for the women’s basketball team during freshman year, I tried out for the team during my sophomore year. Once I made the team, I played basketball for two seasons. I tore my ACL in 2000 and missed all of my junior year and returned to complete my career as a senior. I graduated in 2002 from Roberts Wesleyan University a Bachelors in Psychology, with a concentration in counseling.
My college summers were as diverse as my high-school ones. I cleaned dorms, traveled to another state to serve as a live-in nanny, and worked for a commercial landscaping company. No job was below me, as I continued to develop a strong work ethic and learned how to relate to a wide variety of people.
I headed to Virginia for law school in August 2002. While in law school, I served the law school chaplain as part of the Council of Graduate Students. I studied hard, taking a break every Friday night to play pick-up basketball with a group at the campus housing. I graduated from Regent University in May of 2005. One goal complete from the list I made as a 17-year-old small-town girl.
When I moved to Arizona in May 2005, I buckled down and began intensively studying for the bar exam. With review class in the morning and study prep in the afternoon, my exam prep was my full-time job six days per week. I took every Sunday off so that I could give my brain a break – a practice I continue to this day. I took the bar exam in July 2005 and passed on my first attempt.
After taking the bar, I was hired by Westover Law Offices – the only firm that would take a chance on an inexperienced new attorney like me.
In February of 2007, I started my career as a prosecutor – a career path I never expected! My focus in law school had been business law, mergers and acquisitions, and contract law. However, the closure of my law firm after my boss’ death launched me into prosecution not knowing what I was doing or what to expect. And I never looked back! I loved my work as a prosecutor and I would not trade that experience for anything.
Nevertheless, in late 2022, I started to wonder about becoming a Judge. I stayed away from the idea for a long time because I didn’t believe I was qualified enough. However, in early 2023, I realized I was capable, qualified, and would do a great job. I believed I had the right attitude and demeanor to be a Judge. In Arizona, when a judicial position opens up, the Governor appoints an attorney to fill the position after an application and interview process. In rural counties like mine, one is required to complete an application, panel interview and then an interview with the Governor. Once the Judge is appointed, the appointee gets to run in the next election.
After applying for three different judicial positions, I was appointed by the Governor of Arizona in December of 2023 to the Yavapai County Superior Court. Currently, I am deeply invested in running an election campaign to keep my position. Over the last several months, while learning a new job, I am also learning all about how to run a campaign.
I made the decision while I was applying that was unheard of in our county, which attracted a lot of attention. I decided to not change my party affiliation before or after my appointment. In the middle of a very red county, I remain registered as an Independent. Since judges are tasked with maintaining the independence and integrity of the judiciary, remaining Independent and not seeking a party to support me was very important to me. As a Superior Court judge, I serve the entire community, not just one group or party. I represent the third and separate branch of the government. My conviction was that I need to stay true to who I am and my conviction to maintain my integrity and impartiality.
As a result of remaining my Independent status, my campaign became a lot tougher. To get on the ballot, I needed to get 3 to 4 times as many petition signatures than anyone else needed who registered with the two primary parties. I needed at least 1500 signatures in less than 3 months. Because of an amazing team of family, friends, neighbors, and associates, I was able to get over 2700 signatures, securing my place on the ballot this November.
While preparing my investiture speech (think inauguration for judges) in April of 2024, an old friend sent me something that 17-year-old me had written. When I was in high school, each student had been asked to respond to the prompt, “What do you want to do with your life?” I did not keep my copy, but I’m grateful my friend did. What I wrote at 17 is not what I remembered writing and when I read my own words, I was blown away. In answering the question, I said “I want to become a lawyer and eventually be an elected official.” WOW! Somewhere between 17 and my early 40s, I lost sight of part of my dreams. The friend sent me the quote at my request and I was baffled because those were the last words I expected to read. I wept, overwhelmed with how that dream from 17 year old Danalyn came full circle with lots of twists and turns along the way.
During my time working for the Maricopa County Attorney’s office from 2007 to 2016, I prosecuted a myriad of cases. However, I spent most of my time prosecuting child abuse and domestic violence cases. When my husband was hired to lead a church in Prescott, Arizona, we moved the family to Yavapai County where I began working as a prosecutor for the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office. Five of my seven years with that office enabled me to serve the community as a juvenile prosecutor, leading to me being recognized as Arizona’s Juvenile Prosecutor of the Year in 2021.
During my nearly 17 years as a prosecutor, I learned many hard lessons. One lesson was the result of meeting a man named Ken at our church in Phoenix. After one Sunday night service, Ken asked me what I did for a living. My answer? “I put people in prison for a living.” This was the answer of a prosecutor who had been taught that the people I prosecuted were not human; they were just numbers. From my point of view, because of their actions, they deserved to be dehumanized. Later, Ken told me that he was afraid of me after I said that. When he was honest with me about how my statement made him (a felon who did his time) feel, I was ashamed of myself. That follow-up conversation was one of the first moments when I realized I had been trained to ignore the humanity in the people in court. As I progressed through my career, I learned from defense attorneys and other prosecutors the importance of seeing the humanity in each person (despite what they have done), while maintaining my conviction that justice must be served and people must have consequences for their actions.
These lessons carried me into my work as a juvenile prosecutor. Most people do not understand that the purpose of juvenile court is to try to rehabilitate juveniles, so that they become productive members of society. Our work was to help them learn to think and respond differently. Understanding the humanity and the connection each person has to the world around them has allowed me to do a better job making sure I served the community in my capacity as a prosecutor and now as a Judge. While I am firm, I am not without a heart. Humanity and humility are an important pieces of the work I do everyday as a judge.
Each time I was given a new assignment in my career, I had little to no training. I had to learn on the fly and pick up things quickly. I develop exceptional organizational skills, while figuring out what was most important each day. My habits and work ethic enabled me to become efficient and effective in every role, including my present role as a judge. Thankfully, I work alongside kind and generous judges whose years of experience have been a great source of wisdom as I entered this role.
As a Judge, I carry all of my life lessons each day, using them to learn a new job and run a campaign to keep my job. I am only the third Judge in our county to run contested in the last 60 years. I am blazing new territory here, therefore patience and organization remain vital to my work each day. My friend Camerone Parker constantly reminds me that my work is “grassroots” and I agree. After starting small – from a small town along the Erie Canal to a big role as a Superior Court Judge, I working hard every day to make my part of the world a better place through my work and my actions.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I practiced in two counties in Arizona, as an attorney, prior to being appointed as a Judge. I decided early on, that how I treated people would be at the front of my practice. Second to that was this phrase: “Always tell the truth and always do the right thing. No matter what.” I live by this every single day.
Every attorney, court employee, cleaning person, no matter the job they hold, is important. We can’t function as a society without everyone. And each person, no matter who they are or what they do, is treated as a human who has value. If I can learn your name, I will. I believe we can learn something from every person, and every person has a story. If I am willing to stop and listen, even for a moment, then hopefully that person will see their value in the world. And my hope is that I am better for it.
The second thing is important to me because it is imperative to have trust with other attorneys in order to do my job well. If they know that I am being honest and have given them what I have, then they don’t have to worry about whether I am going to spring something at the last minute. If I am doing the right thing then the result will work itself out. Even if it isn’t the result that I wanted. If I am wrong, I will admit it and learn from it.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Over the last several years, I’ve spent time reading several of Brené Brown’s books. My husband recommended them because he knew I would like her writing style and her honesty. He was right! Over the last year, however, I started re-reading those books. As I started re-reading Brown’s Daring Greatly book, I met a local leader who had been through similar dehumanizing\demeaning behavior as me. I turned to her for advice on how to handle some nastiness being directed toward me. As we talked, I mentioned Daring Greatly, and she suggested I re-read “Braving the Wilderness” too. This book redirected how I decided to approach the people I come in contact with at my work and during my campaign, especially people who try to dehumanize me.
I’m astounded by the number of people who like to say untrue or unkind things. After reading Brown’s books, I began repeating one of her main points as a sort of meditation: “Strong back, soft front, wild heart. Brave the Wilderness.” These words remind me to be strong and stand up for myself, while also moving in so I can meet people where they are. Even if a person doesn’t like me and has been unkind to me behind my back, I can move in, meet them, and give them an opportunity to see me up close. It is hard to hate someone close up, so one of my practices is to introduce myself to those I’ve heard difficult reports about. The people who think they hate me can decide for themselves based upon real experience, instead of working off of rumors.
As I do the unexpected right now, I refuse to let anyone put me in a box and put labels on me. I am who I am. I own the discomfort and refuse to make myself smaller because someone somewhere is uncomfortable with how I think and approach my work. In many ways, I have stepped out alone to try to bring needed change to the world around me.
A speech by Reshma Saujani entitled “Why Imposter Syndrome is A Scheme” significantly impacted how I lead and move through the world. Saujani delivered this speech to the graduates of Smith College in 2023. A friend, fellow attorney, and life cheerleader sent this speech to me when I was preparing for my interview with the Governor for a judicial position. My friend wanted me to remember that I belonged in the room for that interview and didn’t need to hold back. She reminded me that I was more than qualified for this role and there was no reason for me to make myself smaller for anyone else.
I cried listening to Saujani’s speech, feeling her words in my soul. After listening to her speech, I told myself, “I belong in that room. I am qualified. I do not have to and will not change who I am to fit in. I belong to myself and I am amazing.” In fact, I re-listened to this speech while writing my answers to these questions and was reminded how applicable her words continue to be as I run in this election.
The final resource that has impacted my management of my work and my campaign is my husband. He has been a lead pastor at a local church for the past eight years. Before that, he was a staff member at another church for ten years. The church where he served previously had a very toxic style of leadership. He learned a lot about how not to lead. When he became a lead pastor, he began to lead in a way that included good communication and support for his staff members, as well as healthy confrontation when there were issues to be addressed.
I have taken cues from his leadership of his team when starting my own team as a Judge. I want the people around me to be able to tell me when something isn’t right or I did something hurtful. I want my staff to be able to trust that I have their back if something goes wrong.
I firmly believe that family and time off is important. I encourage my staff members to use all of their vacation-time and be present for important family events. I don’t micromanage my team. I want them to be able to do their work without me looking over their shoulder. I want them to know I trust them to do their job well. When there is an issue, we will address it and figure it out together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://SavageForJudge.com
- Instagram: danalyn_savage
- Facebook: Facebook.com/Savage For Judge
Image Credits
The Personal Photo is by Scott Bideau
The Additional Photos:
Scott Savage (1)- The end of my first day of being a Judge (1/3/24). We like to celebrate each other.
Amy Dillman (2) – Family photo shoot 2022.
Cathy Ransom (3) – This photo from a meet and greet at a home in rural Yavapai County in March of 2024.
Scott Savage (4) – My circle of friends after my Investiture in April 2024.
Tom Griggs (5) – my Oath of Office in April 2024 with my husband Scott Savage holding the Bible (we all need a partner who looks at us like that with such pride in our accomplishments), I am wearing an original coat owned by Camerone Parker, loaned to me for this event, AND designed by Bert Keeter for Andre Laug.
Scott Savage (6) – April 1, 2024, this is me handing in my 2700 petition signatures for counting to the Yavapai County Elections Office.
(7) This was taken by a court staff member. This was December 2023, after my appointment. The day I signed my oath of office to start my job as Judge on 1/3/24. The Judge in the photo is Anna Young. She is the Division 6 Judge in our county. I appeared in front of her for 5 years as a juvenile prosecutor before being appointed. I asked her to do my oath of office to close out a chapter in my life.
Scott Savage (8) – photo taken prior to us attending the Yavapai County CASA for Kids Gala in June 2024. The coat is owned by Camerone Parker, loaned to me for this event. AND it was designed by Antonio and Jesus Estrada, aka the Estrada Twins.