Monica Dean is a National Edward R. Murrow Award-winning anchor/reporter for NBC7 San Diego. She co-anchors NBC 7’s 4 & 5 p.m. weekday newscasts.
Monica joined NBC 7 in 2004. Most recently she launched a year-long investigation into the sex trafficking and exploitation of children in San Diego and beyond. The findings of her expansive investigation are the basis of a seven-episode documentary series and multimedia platform of content titled, “STOLEN,” available at NBC 7.com/stolen.
Since the digital launch of “STOLEN” in August 2020, Monica’s work has been recognized with a Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) National Murrow Award for “Excellence in Innovation,” three Regional Murrow Awards, a Golden Mike Award, four Emmy Awards, Silver and Bronze “Telly” Awards, and three awards from the Society of Professional Journalists San Diego chapter.
In her nearly two decades at NBC 7, Monica has won Emmy Awards for coverage ranging from the 2007 San Diego Firestorms to the 2016 riots at the Donald Trump Rally in San Diego.
Monica helped establish the KNSD Academy, an experiential learning program at NBC 7 & Telemundo 20 that introduces high school students to careers in TV News. She regularly emcees galas for a list of non-profit organizations that support children, sex trafficking survivors, and emergency preparedness/response. Monica is also an accomplished motivational speaker.
Monica Dean has lived and worked all over the world, but California will always be her home. Monica grew up in a military family and spent half of her senior year of high school as an exchange student in Australia. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from UCLA and her Master of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in Chicago, where she was a Harrington Award recipient, Medill’s top honor for graduate students.
Monica began her TV news career in 1998 working behind the scenes at KTTV FOX-11 News in Los Angeles. She then worked on-air as a Washington D.C. correspondent for WCAX, the CBS affiliate in Burlington, Vermont. From 2002-2004 Monica worked in Bakersfield, California, for KBAK/KBFX-TV, the CBS/FOX affiliates, where she received several awards from the Associated Press and Kern Press Club for her work.
Monica is passionate about family, faith and community. She is married and has three school-age children, all of whom are active in their community church. Monica can often be found volunteering at school; teaching art to elementary students, moderating classroom book clubs, emceeing school events, hosting church youth groups, and inspiring future journalists through interactive presentations. On the weekends Monica is often cheering from the sidelines of her children’s numerous sporting activities and fine arts performances.
Follow Monica
Twitter: @MonicaNBCSD
Facebook: facebook.com/monica.dean
Instagram: @MonicaNBCSD
The Latest
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How to Help in the Fight Against Human Trafficking
We hope that every STOLEN viewer is inspired to become an ally in the fight to save those young lives that were snatched from underneath them. Survivor resource groups that we consulted for this project say there are a few ways you can help.
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STOLEN: Journey to Freedom
Every survivor has a unique journey. Here are three survivor stories told through composite characters. These stories are based on documented scenarios, research and personal accounts. Follow their journey and learn how to spot the warning signs of exploitation. Hear from survivors and experts about similar, real-life situations. Learn about community resources, agencies and organizations working together to rescue and…
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STOLEN Episode 3: The Enforcement
A suspected sex buyer gives an on-camera interview immediately after being handcuffed by San Diego’s Human Trafficking Task Force. And the elite multi-agency law enforcement team gives a peek inside its operation during Comic-Con, a time of year detectives characterize as a “peak time” for sex buying. NBC 7 also discovers a dramatic discrepancy in the ethnicity of traffickers arrested.
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Extraordinary San Diegans: SDPD Officer Stays Connected With Students
The School Safety Patrol program is meant to teach elementary school students safe street crossing on their way to and from school. But parents of fifth graders who are lucky enough to have San Diego Police officer David Valdez as their leader say it’s much more than that.
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Inspiration Behind Phone Charger Drive for COVID-19 Patients Released from ICU
A grandfather to a San Diego family who was fighting the coronavirus alone in a Florida ICU was cut off from his loved ones when his cell phone battery hit 0%. Luckily, he didn’t lose all of his own energy and earned himself a release from the ICU Thursday. The heartbreaking communication gap wasn’t all for not, as it...
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The Annual ‘Race for Autism' Will Go On, But With A New Hurdle
Dozens of San Diego non-profits have been forced to cancel events and fundraisers because public health restrictions put in place during the coronavirus pandemic. But instead of pulling the plug on the 16th annual Race For Autism, the National Foundation for Autism Research (NFAR) is taking their race online. Chelsea Asaro is an outreach specialist with NFAR. She’s also a...
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Inspiring San Diego: Student and Aid's Special Bond is Preschool Program's ‘Why'
Imagine a place where children with special needs are celebrated and where families are supported so children with differences can thrive alongside their peers. This is an everyday reality at Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church Preschool where the preschool’s unique program is teaching acceptance while offering hope to countless families at a critical time. It’s a story Inspiring San...
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Inspiring San Diego: Cancer Survivor, Make-A-Wish Kid Becomes San Diego's Youngest Wish Granter
North County teenager Sana Moezzi is using her unique perspective on life to help kids with life-threatening illnesses. Moezzi is a cancer survivor who was granted a wish by San Diego’s Make-a-Wish Foundation. At 19 years old, she is now Make-A-Wish San Diego’s youngest wish granter. She’s using the lessons she learned through her painful experience battling cancer to inspire...
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Inspiring San Diego: Surgery Transforms Man Born with Cleft Palate from Outside In, Inspires His Dream to Give Back
A young man born with a facial deformity has undergone a dramatic physical transformation thanks to the San Diego based nonprofit, Fresh Start. This surgical journey changed much more than his outward appearance, it inspired a life-changing personal mission. It’s a story Inspiring San Diego.
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Kids Teach Lesson on Acceptance With Simple Invitation to ‘Come Say Hi'
A family in San Diego’s East County is asking people to “Come say hi,” to their son. It sounds like a simple request, but for the Meyer family, it’s become part of a bigger, personal mission to teach others a profound lesson about kindness & compassion.
