Director and Staff Information

Kathleen Burke, Executive Director
Kathleen Burke joined the Ohio Lottery Commission on August 24, 2009. As Executive Director, she oversees a state agency with sales of $2.4 billion a year, administering instant and on-line lottery game products through a statewide network of licensed retailers. The agency is charged with maximizing Lottery game profits for use in public education. She also oversees the administration of Ohio’s charitable bingo licensing and monitoring, and the implementation of Video Lottery Terminals in Ohio racetracks.

Ms. Burke comes to the Lottery as a partner from Jones Day in Cleveland, where she has been a corporate litigator since 1973. She served as the first woman president of the Ohio State Bar Association from 1993-1994. As president, she led the successful effort to, for the first time, have the Supreme Court establish contribution limits for judicial campaigns. She also served as president of the Ohio State Bar Foundation from 2000-2001 and is currently a board member for the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation.

Ms. Burke is a member of the Notre Dame College board of trustees, serving as chair from 2002-2006. She has also served in numerous leadership capacities for the American Bar Association, including her current role as state delegate for Ohio and co-chair of the Federal Practice Task Force. Additionally, Burke has received numerous professional recognitions. Crain’s Cleveland Business recognized her as a Woman of Note in September 2002, and she was named by Cleveland Magazine as one of the 29 Most Influential Women in Business in 1997. She was recognized in the 2007-2009 editions of “The Best Lawyers in America” and received the 2008 St. Thomas More Award from the Lawyers Guild of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.

Ms. Burke received a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University in New York City in 1969 and a law degree from St. John’s University in 1973. In the time between receiving her bachelor’s degree and returning to law school, Burke served as a reporter for the Yonkers Herald Statesman, a Gannett newspaper in Yonkers, N.Y., and also worked for CBS Network News.

Dennis Berg, Deputy Director, Office of Finance
Dennis R. Berg assumed the position of Deputy Director of the Office of Finance in January 2005, a position he briefly held in 1996 as well.

He has been employed at the Ohio Lottery Commission since 1991. His experience at the Ohio Lottery has allowed him to touch virtually every aspect of the agency’s business operations.

Mr. Berg has been employed in public service since 1985, starting in the Finance Department of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District. He joined the Financial Reporting and Control Department for the City of Cleveland in 1986.

Mr. Berg earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cleveland State University. A Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner, he is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). Mr. Berg also holds an Ohio Financial Accountability Certificate issued by the Auditor of State.

Traci Pinkney Deputy Director, Office of General Services
Traci Pinkney was named deputy director of the Office of General Services in January 2008, for the Ohio Lottery Commission. In this capacity, Traci oversees a variety of agency support functions, including Bureaus of Agent Licensing, Vehicle Fleet Administration, Office Services, Warehouse Operations and the Customer Call Center.

Ms. Pinkney began her tenure with the Lottery in 1986 as an intern. Over the last 22 years, Traci has held various positions with the Lottery, including public inquiry supervisor in the Customer Call Center and team member in the Office of Strategic Planning.

Ms. Pinkney was also employed by betpin & associates inc., a consulting firm specializing in strategic planning, political consulting, and campaign management.

Ms. Pinkney received both a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s degree in business from the University of Phoenix. Traci resides in Cleveland and is a member of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., an associate board member of Recovery Resources and a disaster action team leader for the American Red Cross.

Michael Petro, Deputy Director, Office of Information Technology
Michael Petro was named Deputy Director of the Office of Information Technology in June 2002. His career at the Ohio Lottery began in 1978. At the time he left the Lottery in 1985, Mr. Petro supervised the agency's programming staff.

In 1985, he joined Curtis Industries, where he served as a project team leader until 1989. In 1989, Mr. Petro joined Ecotran, a software company, where he served as Vice President of Product Development until 1998. Ecotran was subsequently purchased by Trapeze Software, and Mr. Petro led their development group until 2002.

Mr. Petro holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics, as well as a master’s degree in computer and information science. Mr. Petro is a member of the Mathematical Association of America.


Jeannie Roberts, Deputy Director, Office of Communications
Jeannie Roberts was named Deputy Director of the Office of Communications on May 12, 2008.
In her position, Ms. Roberts oversees all aspects of the Ohio Lottery’s communications and public relations efforts and serves as the agency’s spokesperson.

Ms. Roberts brings 20-plus years of media experience to the Lottery. She served as a beat writer and columnist for daily newspapers in Florida and Michigan, including stints covering Southeastern Conference football, the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball.

Prior to joining the Lottery in June of 2007, Ms. Roberts was a freelance magazine writer, publishing in numerous national magazines and on Internet sports writing sites. Locally, she was a regular contributor to Cleveland Magazine and served clients such as Case Western Reserve University and the Eliza Jennings Senior Care Network.

Before beginning her media career, for which she has been professionally recognized with numerous awards, Ms. Roberts attended Florida State University.

John Martin, Deputy Director, Office of Sales Management
John Martin was named the Lottery’s Deputy Director of Sales Management on March 16, 2009. Mr. Martin is charged with increasing statewide sales in order to maximize the Lottery’s annual transfer to the Lottery Profits Education Fund.

Prior to joining the Lottery, Mr. Martin was the General Manager of Colortone Staging & Rentals in Solon. Under his guidance, Colortone experienced consistent revenue growth and record profitability. Mr. Martin, who is a 1978 graduate of John Carroll University in University Heights, OH, has extensive sales and marketing knowledge. He has experience with recruiting, hiring and training a regional sales force targeting custom solutions for the retail and consumer packaged goods industries.

Michael Dolan, Interim Deputy Director, Office of Charitable Gaming

Carol Brown, Deputy Director, Office of Internal Audit
Carol Brown currently serves as the Ohio Lottery Commission’s Deputy Director of the Office of Internal Audit. Mrs. Brown first joined the Ohio Lottery Commission in 1989 as an accountant in the Office of Finance, and later served as a fiscal specialist. In 1993, she became an internal auditor, and in July 2002 was named Manager of Internal Audit.

Prior to joining the Ohio Lottery, Mrs. Brown worked in the private sector handling taxes and financials for corporations, partnerships and sole proprietors.

Mrs. Brown is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting, with a minor in data processing, from Dyke College.

John O'Donnell, Deputy Director, Office of Security
Jack O’Donnell has been the Ohio Lottery Commission’s Deputy Director of Security since May 2002. He oversees a staff responsible for securing the safety and security of the agency’s employees, game products and drawings. The Office of Security investigates stolen ticket incidents, initiates background checks for employees, vendors and retailers, and provides general security needs to protect the safety and reputation of the agency. A 25-year law enforcement veteran, he comes to the Lottery from the City of Beachwood, where he was Commander of Investigations.

Mr. O’Donnell is a graduate of the Police Executive Leadership College and is a certified Law Enforcement Executive, one of 110 in the State of Ohio.

Pam DeGeeter, Chief Legal Counsel
Pam DeGeeter was named Chief Legal Counsel Oct. 16, 2007, and in her role oversees all legal matters that come before the agency.

She joined The Ohio State Lottery as Assistant Legal Counsel in May 2007, bringing both private sector practice and government-related experience to the Ohio Lottery. Prior to joining the agency, she served as a judicial staff attorney for Judge David T. Matia. From 1997 to 2005, Ms. DeGeeter worked for Smith & Smith of Avon Lake, a general practice law firm. While working in private practice, Ms. DeGeeter served as a guardian ad litem for the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court. A former member of the Cleveland Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Executive Committee, she currently holds membership in both the Cleveland Bar Association and the Ohio Bar Association.

Ms. DeGeeter graduated summa cum laude from Cleveland Marshall College of Law, and holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Miami University of Ohio. She resides in Parma.

Terri Tancredi, Deputy Director, Marketing Services
Terri Tancredi was named Deputy Director of the Office of Marketing Services Sept. 4, 2007. In her position, Ms. Tancredi oversees all aspects of the Ohio Lottery’s marketing efforts, including advertising, promotions, sponsorships, point-of-purchase and merchandising.

Prior to joining the Lottery, Ms. Tancredi served as Director of Intranet and Brand Strategy for Big Lots Inc., a Fortune 500 company with more than 1,400 stores in 46 states and annual revenues exceeding $4 billion.

She brings with her extensive retail knowledge at the field, regional and corporate levels. Her career spans more than 20 years with experience in marketing, sales promotion, merchandise presentation, creative services, advertising, packaging, brand strategy and the Intranet.

Ms. Tancredi began her retail career at Gold Circle, a division of Federated Department Stores.

Gwendolyn A. Penn, Deputy Director, Office of Product Development
Gwendolyn A. Penn was named Deputy Director of Product Development in February 2009. Ms. Penn manages the activities of the Bureaus of Online and Instant Ticket Products as well as the Instant Ticket Warehouse. Before this appointment, she was the Online Products Manager.

Ms. Penn began her Lottery career in 1988 as a temporary worker in Security. Over the past 21 years, Ms. Penn has worked in a variety of positions within Executive, Administration and Finance. Ms. Penn is also a part-time instructor teaching management courses at a local college.

Ms. Penn holds a Master’s of Management and a BSBA with a specialization in management from Myers University. Ms. Penn is active in her church where she is the financial secretary and bookkeeper. Ms. Penn resides in Cleveland with her husband James and family.