Meet the Staff
Meet Lucky Orphans’ Staff led by the Founder and Executive Director, Deanna Mancuso
Deanna Mancuso | Founder and Executive Director
A well-established member of the local professional equine community, Deanna started out as an exercise rider for various farms from Westchester to Columbia Counties. Next came barn management, eventually transitioning to business-owner of Equine Escape Stable. Within a few years of opening Equine Escape, Deanna began to recognize a disturbing trend within the community. She was receiving a growing number of inquiries regarding unwanted horses and how to report abuse and neglect. This problem was only exacerbated by requests from the DCSPCA to foster seized horses which had begun to outnumber available spaces at their own facilities. Determined to be part of the solution, Deanna established Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue to offer permanent sanctuary to these otherwise unwanted, abused, or neglected animals, and provide them with a safe haven where they would never again experience the situations that led them to LOHR in the first place.
Erich Steffensen | Property Manager
After working as a butcher for 25 years I left that job to work with dogs. For five years I trained service dogs for people with disabilities. I was surprised how much I enjoyed working with the people, especially the veterans I dealt with. Covid came along and my programs were ended. Soon after, I had breakfast with Deanna and she mentioned therapy with horses. It sounded interesting and I started volunteering on the farm, and was later hired as the pproperty manager. Nine years ago I had a fire and lost 6 dogs along with my house and everything my wife and I owned. Back then I thought PTSD was just in your head or an excuse. One day, after the fire, I turned on a light with a flourescent in the house we were staying in and it crackled and flickered as it turned on. I immediately freaked out thinking it was a fire and from then on realized PTSD was a real thing. That has helped a lot with my service dogs that train to help with PTSD. I grew up working on horse farms and just love being outside and working with the horses, and being a part of Lucky Orphans. I’m also part of the EquiNorth Team. I’m Natural Lifemanship and Mental Health First Aid trained.
Erika Voigt | Barn Manager
As a 14 year old girl I can remember constantly driving by lucky orphans with my family. Like many young girls, I loved horses and one day found the courage to visit the farm. As a small, quiet girl I was nervous around people and having no prior horse experience, I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out. Upon my arrival I instantly felt calm and connected to the horses, it was as though entering the gate caused all my stress to go away and I was able to leave the “real” world behind. I began spending all my time at the rescue and quickly realized it was something that I loved to do. However, as college was approaching, I decided to take a step back from volunteering and ended up going to college in New York City as a pre-law student. By the end of my first semester I felt as though I was missing something, and found my way back to LOHR. It is at the rescue where I have learned numerous life skills, including the confidence that got me through high school. I instantly fell back in love with the horses and the mission, becoming a staff member later that fall, and the Barn Manager a few months later. I am truly grateful for LOHR and the people there as they have helped me gain countless opportunities such as becoming a part of the amplify horse racing mentorship and learning a lot about Thoroughbred Aftercare. I now aspire to use my law degree to work in the thoroughbred industry after I complete college. I enjoy working with, teaching and meeting different people who are joined by the mission, people helping horses heal people. I can say without a doubt that LOHR has shaped me into the person I am today. It has taught me so much and I can not wait to find out where my path at LOHR will take me.
Dawn Isaacson | Office Manager
Every little girl wants to ride horses. In 2011 I was looking for an inexpensive, relaxed facility where my daughter, Tori, could learn to ride but more importantly have hands-on experiences with the horses. When we found Lucky Orphans for that purpose, we didn’t know that it would become so much more to both of us. Over the last 12 years, we’ve experienced competitive riding, 4H, community events, horse care, barn care, and the gains/losses that come along with running an animal sanctuary. Finding funding for the farm became my passion and as a result, I educated myself in grant writing providing LOHR with much-needed support. Having a full-time job made it difficult to solely focus on this endeavor and I would joke about my job getting in the way of what I wanted to do. But now, with my recent retirement, I get to create a whole new purpose for my day-to-day routine. I look forward to my new role as Office Manager, in addition to grant writing. I believe, without realizing it, I’ve been preparing for this for many years. I’m so thankful for being part of the LOHR community. It has taught me that believing in something makes the impossible possible.
