Our Board

Joshua Gaines

Board Chair

Joshua Gaines is Senior Vice President – Strategy & Corporate Development for Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH), a Fortune 20, $103 billion health care services company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Joshua is a corporate transactional attorney by training, having previously led Cardinal Health’s Legal - M&A team, held positions with international law firms Ropes & Gray and Morrison & Foerster, and served as General Counsel of American Medical Response. Before law school, Joshua founded a gourmet ice cream and cookie business known as AJ’s Gourmet Ice Cream & Cookie Factory based in Richmond, Virginia. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Matt Wooster

Board Secretary

Matt Wooster is a Vice President – Senior Relationship Manager in the Commercial Banking department for Huntington Bank. Prior to joining Huntington in 2010, he was a Senior Associate at Denali Capital, a credit strategy structured fund investment company. He was also previously a Senior Associate at Ernst & Young, a global accounting firm. Both positions were located in Chicago. Matt attended Ohio State University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Accounting and Finance and played on the varsity tennis team. He has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Karen Olstad

Board Treasurer

Karen Olstad is Chief Operating Officer at WOSU Public Media.  She joined the staff of WOSU from Alaska Public Telecommunications in Anchorage, Alaska, where she was Vice President of Operations and Chief Financial Officer. In addition to her position at Alaska Public Telecommunications, Olstad also worked 20 years for Washington State University’s joint NPR/PBS licensee, rising to the position of Associate General Manager and Chief Financial Officer, also serving two years as Acting General Manager. Over the years, she has served on numerous committees and as chair of the Public Broadcasting Management Association (PBMA). Karen has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Washington State University.

Jeni Britton-Bauer

Board Member

Jeni Britton-Bauer, a founding member of Local Matters, opened Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams in 2002 with her husband Charly. What began as a small ice cream shop in the North Market has grown to seven stores, with national and international shipping available. Jeni is and is widely renowned for her work as an advocate for Columbus, entrepreneurship and community generosity.
For more background on how Jeni and her business share a deep connection to Local Matters, read the story here.


John Kirsner

Board Member

John Kirsner is an attorney at Squire Sanders, a large international law firm.  His work has been focused in the health care space, and has included support of nonprofit and for-profit boards. John is a past chair of the Ohio State Bar Association’s Health Care Law Committee, and he is currently co-chair of the Online Membership Services Advisory Panel and a member of the American Health Lawyers Association. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2007 and has been named an Ohio Super Lawyer every year since 2006. John and his wife Lisa live in Upper Arlington with their two children, Ellie and Ariel. 

Sue McManus

Board Member

Susan McManus is Vice President of Brand Management at Nationwide Insurance.  Since joining Nationwide in 1993, Susan has held a variety of positions in strategy, digital marketing, Internet development, and operations.  She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wittenberg University and holds a master of applied statistics degree from The Ohio State University.   Susan is the President of the 400 member national Pride Associate Resource Group at Nationwide since 2010 and co-chair of the United Way of Central Ohio Pride Council for the 2012 campaign. She has served on the national Business Council of the Human Rights Campaign, a braintrust on LGBT issues in the workplace based in Washington, D.C., since 2003.

Deb Mak

Board Member

Deb Mak is the Columbus/Dayton Rep for KMA Associates, an office furniture rep firm for the commercial interior design industry. She earned her Bachelor’s of Art in Economics and East Asian Studies from Wittenberg University.

Dr. Mary-Lynn Niland

Board Member

Mary-Lynn Niland is a Pediatrician with COPC–Step by Step Pediatrics who serves as Board Member for the Central Ohio Pediatrics Society. She earned her Bachelor’s of Art in Mathematics from Indiana University and her MD from The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

Cortney Porter

Board Member

Cortney Porter is the Director of Catering and Senior Events Planner for Shane's Gourment. A certified culinarian and an essential part of the Shane's Gourmet team since April 2000, Cortney J. Porter is an American Culinary Federation Gold and Silver medalist from various culinary team competitions and served as Shane's Executive Sous Chef for nine years. She is active in the Columbus community with a membership in The Junior League of Columbus where she received the 2010 President's Award for leadership and volunteerism. She is also a member of The United Way of Central Ohio's Project Diversity Cycle 19; a leadership program designed for non-profit board training. She currently sits on the Columbus Chapter ACF Board and is on the Columbus State Community College Chef Apprenticeship Committee. Cortney is also a contributing food writer for 614 Magazine and volunteers at The Weinland Park Community Garden in her spare time.

Dr. Judith Tansky

Board Member

Dr. Tansky is a Senior Lecturer of Management and Human Resources at the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. Dr. Tansky has received grants to conduct research in the area of human resources in small/entrepreneurial firms and for academic conferences on managing people in such firms. Her research has appeared in numerous professional journals, including Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Human Resource Management Journal, Human Resource Development Quarterly, Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, and The Labor Law Journal. She also has had several monographs published by the Sar Levitan Center for Social Policy Studies, and several book chapters.
She teaches courses on human resources in small and entrepreneurial firms, employee development, career development, the contingent workforce, reward systems, benefits, and compensation theory. 


Sonya Thesing

Board Member

Sonya Lin Thesing is currently focusing her time and energy on raising her two sons and serving her community as a volunteer. Most recently, she was a founding partner of The Columbus Nanny Agency. Previously, Sonya was executive vice president of Wayne Products, and held development and marketing positions at the Washington National Cathedral and the Smithsonian Institution. Her board service has included the Junior League of Columbus, St. Joseph Montessori School and St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. Sonya received the Junior League of Columbus’ Presidents Award in 2006 and is a member of the 2007 class of Business First’s Forty Under Forty. Sonya received a B.A. in international studies from Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA and an M.B.A. from The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.