Deanna Finch
Deanna Finch is a visionary nonprofit executive based in the Greater St. Louis area and serves as the Executive Director of United 4 Children. With over a decade of experience in nonprofit leadership, she is recognized for her collaborative, people-centered approach to driving transformational change in early childhood systems. Her leadership blends strategic vision, adaptive problem-solving, and a strong commitment to equity, helping the organization scale programs, manage complex budgets, and build meaningful cross-sector partnerships.
Deanna began her journey with United 4 Children as a board member before stepping into development leadership and ultimately becoming Executive Director in 2019. Prior to her nonprofit career, she worked in business development within the engineering sector, experience that strengthened her skills in relationship-building and organizational growth. Throughout her tenure, she has focused on strengthening early childhood education systems, improving access to quality care, and advancing initiatives that support children and families across Missouri.
She is deeply engaged in community impact work beyond her organization, serving on the board of Empower Missouri and participating in leadership development programs through Focus St. Louis. Deanna is also a strong advocate for equitable systems, frequently contributing to conversations on early childhood policy, workforce development, and nonprofit sustainability. Her work is grounded in curiosity, inclusivity, and a belief in building long-term, community-driven solutions that create lasting impact for children and families.
• Leadership St. Louis
• Agile Requirements Foundations
• Business Analysis Foundations
• Women in Leadership
• Getting Off the Fence: Inclusive Leadership in Action with Tara Jaye Frank
• Strategic Doing Practitioner Training
• Fontbonne University- B.B.A.
• Sanford-Brown College- Associate's
• Magna Cum Laude
• Board member of Empower Missouri
• Focus St. Louis Leadership St. Louis
• Focus St. Louis Women in Leadership St. Louis cohort member
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a really strong support system of people who believe in me. But beyond that, the skill I bring to everything I do is the ability to see so many sides of an angle in scenario planning and decision making. I am a very inclusive leader, where I bring people's experience and perspective to scenario planning, and that helps me make the best decisions possible. I bring others' inputs into it, and that inclusive approach to leadership has been key to my success.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I’ve ever received is to go after what I want and not wait for opportunities to come to me, but instead actively pursue the work and impact I’m passionate about.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The thing I say the most to women is to stop saying sorry. Stop saying sorry for taking up space, for having a voice, for having an opinion, for setting out to do something big. I literally ask people, why are you telling me sorry right now? We have been conditioned to do this. Why are you saying sorry for asking me to move out of the way? Why are you saying sorry for giving me an opinion that I asked you for? Whether it's the words 'I'm sorry' or the attitude that says sorry behind it, I think it has to change with women. We are devaluing ourselves every single day that we are asking permission to be there.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One challenge for early career women entering nonprofit work, at least in my experience here in St. Louis, is that you're typically going into it knowing you're not going to make as much money as in the for-profit corporate world. There are a lot of opportunities to be involved, at least here in the St. Louis region, but I'm not sure if there is a whole lot of natural mentoring where other women are pulling their younger selves up without traditional programs that are there to do that, like Focus St. Louis. If I were starting over again and starting from scratch, I made it here because of good networking, but where to start networking would feel overwhelming to me. Also, the balance of making an impact and starting a family and wanting to excel in your career is challenging. I couldn't imagine being a young childbearing woman right now. It seems a lot harder these days. The lack of consistent, high-quality, and affordable childcare is such a challenge right now that even in the corporate world, 64% of businesses say it prevents them from being as productive as they could be.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Curiosity and continuous learning are the values most important to me. I am a lifelong learner.