Meet Our Team
Estate and Gift Planning
John C. Woods
Assistant Vice President, Estate and Gift Planning
614-292-2183, woods.715@osu.edu
Prior to joining Ohio State in June 2015, John was vice president of gift planning for the University of Arizona (UA) Foundation for 21 years. Before UA he worked for the law firm of Dickerman and Nuckolls in Tucson, Arizona. He earned a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from the University of Arizona and a law degree from Creighton University. He is a member of the Worthington Estate Planning Council, Partnership for Philanthropic Planning, Central Ohio Planned Giving Roundtable and State Bar of Arizona. John is a past member of the Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council and the Planned Giving Roundtable of Southern Arizona, where he has served as president. He also has been on the board of the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson where he served as president.
Mary Ann Esber
Executive Director, Estate and Gift Planning
614-688-5683, esber.2@osu.edu
A Canton, Ohio, native, Mary Ann earned a B.A. in accounting from Walsh University in North Canton and a J.D. from the University of Akron. Mary Ann practiced taxation and employee-benefits law in Canton before joining Ohio State. Mary Ann has been with the gift planning office for 25 years. She is active with the Central Ohio Planned Giving Council, Worthington Estate Planning Council and is a member of the Finance Council at St. Andrew Parish in Upper Arlington.
Colin Reenan
Senior Director, Estate and Gift Planning
614-292-8739, reenan.1@osu.edu
Colin is a Cincinnati native who earned his B.A. in economics and history from Butler University and was a member of the golf team all four years. He also has his law degree from The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law and served on the university’s distinguished Committee on Academic Misconduct. While previously working on Ohio State leases and transactions, he has experience in real estate matters including due diligence, mineral rights, and valuation. In his free time Colin competes in amateur golf tournaments and recreational league basketball.
Samuel Ehret
Director, Estate and Gift Planning
614-247-8695, ehret.37@osu.edu
Sam is a Columbus, Ohio native who attended Ohio State for his undergraduate degree in economics and his law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Prior to joining Ohio State, Sam practiced law as a probate and estate planning attorney. While obtaining his undergraduate degree, Sam was a member of The Ohio State University Marching Band, where he met his wife, Kayla. On Buckeye football Saturdays you can find Sam and his wife volunteering for the Marching Band.
Miranda Loesche
Director, Estate and Gift Planning
614-292-3478, loesche.3@osu.edu
Miranda Loesche is a Cincinnati native who attended Miami University, where she earned her BA in political science. She then received her JD from the University of Cincinnati College of Law. While obtaining her undergraduate degree, Miranda was in the United States Army. Prior to joining Ohio State, she worked for the Ohio Innocence Project and clerked for a criminal defense law firm. In her free time, Miranda enjoys cooking, baking and doing anything outdoors.
Logan Riley
Director, Estate and Gift Planning
614-514-5963, riley.597@osu.edu
Logan Riley is a West Virginia native who earned his B.A. in sociology and a minor in political science from the University of Dayton. He attended Moritz College of Law and graduated cum laude in May 2017. Prior to joining Ohio State, Logan worked on a wide variety of projects at UnitedLex in Columbus. In his free time Logan likes to play in the Columbus recreational basketball league, engage in a multitude of outdoor activities, and read historical books ranging from ancient Rome to WWII.
Lucaas Secrist
Director, Estate and Gift Planning
614-292-2420, secrist.46@osu.edu
Lucaas Secrist is an Illinois native graduating from MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois, with a bachelor's in business administration and marketing in 2020. He then received his JD from the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law. Prior to joining Ohio State, Lucaas worked with the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions, Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet and worked in the law department for Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG). In his free time, Lucaas enjoys spending time outdoors with his dogs and fiancée, Georgia, finding good restaurants, and tinkering on projects.
Danette Golis-Variano
Associate Director, Trust and Estate Administration, Estate and Gift Planning
614-292-1600, golis-variano.1@osu.edu
Prior to joining Ohio State in September 2015, Danette was the trust and estate administrator for the University of Arizona Foundation for six years. Prior to that, she worked in higher education for 18 years at the University of Arizona and at the University of Idaho. Danette has a bachelor’s degree in office administration and a master’s degree in business education, both from the University of Idaho. She has also completed paralegal course work at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona.
Grant Courtheyn
Coordinator, Estate and Gift Planning
614-292-7714, courtheyn.1@osu.edu
A Canal Fulton, Ohio, native, Grant earned a BA in history from The Ohio State University in 2003. Grant returned to his alma mater in mid-2006 after working in the service and retail industry for three years. Originally hired by transportation and parking, he has also worked for the office of the president and athletics in his time with the university. He currently lives in Gahanna with his wife and son.
Frank Clover
Office Associate, Estate and Gift Planning
614-247-6486, clover.4@osu.edu
Frank has worked for the university since 1999 for the 4-H Foundation, the Extension Service business office, and University Development. He graduated from Ohio State with a B.A. in German and history and earned an M.L.S. from Kent StateUniversity.
Delfina Delisle
Marketing Manager, Estate and Gift Planning
614-292-3192, delisle.8@osu.edu
Delfina helps create and implement marketing and communication strategies for the office. Prior to joining the team in 2012, she worked as a marketing manager for Webster Bank and MetLife. She earned a bachelor’s degree in international business and Spanish from Assumption College and an MBA from Quinnipiac University. When she’s not working, she enjoys trying new recipes and spending time with her husband and 2 daughters.
Gift Agreement and Endowment Services
JT Houssami
Senior Director, Development Operations
614-292-2441, houssami.1@osu.edu
Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, JT is a lifelong Buckeye and proud graduate of the Max M. Fisher College of Business where he specialized in Finance. JT joined Ohio State in 2014 and has experience in donor stewardship, fund management, the university endowment, gift documentation and more. JT oversees Ohio State’s Gift Agreement and Endowment Services team and contributes to The Ohio State University Foundation Board Audit Committee. Prior to his time with Ohio State, JT worked in the banking industry for 8 years leading multiple high-performing teams. Outside of work you will find JT coaching his sons’ football teams or cheering on his daughter at gymnastics competitions.
Lori Watkins
Associate Director, Gift Agreement and Endowment Services
614-247-4115, watkins.619@osu.edu
Lori is a Columbus, Ohio native who earned her BA in psychology from The Ohio State University. She has been with Ohio State Advancement for 23 years. Prior to joining the Ohio State team, Lori worked for a K-12 health education publishing company.
Sam Deskin
Assistant Director, Gift Agreement and Endowment Services
614-292-1729, deskin.2@osu.edu
From Youngstown, Ohio, Sam attended Ohio State for his undergraduate degree and has worked for the university since December 2015. When he’s not working, Sam enjoys exercising, working on home improvement projects (thanks YouTube) and spending time with his wife, Lizzie, and their pets.
Lasserina Dowell
Fund Management Consultant, Gift Agreement and Endowment Services
614-292-1176, dowell.127@osu.edu
Prior to joining Ohio State in Spring 2023, Lasserina was a frontline fundraiser for major and planned gifts at Indiana University's Eskenanzi Museum of Art. She also managed annual giving programs, corporate and foundation grants and a National Advisory Board. Lasserina graduated with a BS in Nonprofit Management, with Distinction, from Indiana University's honors program. She graduated with a MA in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University's Lilly School of Philanthropy. In her free time, she enjoys cheering on her favorite Big 10 school and coaching collegiate Mock Trial with her husband, Daniel.