Our Board of Directors Executive Committee

  • An elderly man with white hair and glasses, wearing a blue checkered shirt, standing outdoors with a blurred background of green foliage.

    Dan O'Keefe

    Board President

    Daniel O’Keefe leads the volunteer effort tending and breeding trees in the American chestnut orchard at the Tyler Arboretum, where he has been a volunteer since 2016.  He has a BS from SUNY Brockport, PhD in plant biochemistry from Purdue University, and was a postdoctoral fellow in biochemistry/biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania.  He was a research scientist for 35 years in Dupont Central Research in Wilmington, Delaware.  He and his wife, Vicki, live in Ridley Park, PA.

  • A man with white hair and light skin standing outdoors in front of a blurred green background, wearing a beige t-shirt with a white botanical illustration and the words 'Castanea dentata'.

    David Deaville

    Board Vice President

    David Deaville hails from the UK where he grew up in a rural Cambridgeshire fenland village. After education in Engineering at Durham and Cambridge Universities he worked in manufacturing for Ford and Mars Inc. David transferred to West Chester, PA in 1988. He married in 1991 and has two adult children.

    David’s love of the outdoors was rekindled after retiring in 2021. In addition to TACF work he is an active volunteer with Natural Lands, a land conservation organization in South East PA. Spare time is spent canoeing and small dingy sailing- he also serves as treasurer of the Traditional Small Craft  Association.


  • A man in a baseball cap smiling outdoors, holding a baby goat with white fur and small horns.

    Rick Hartlieb

    Past Board President

    Rick Hartlieb has been involved with TACF since 2005, installing a small F1 orchard in Berks Co PA. A forester by trade, Rick and his wife Jen, operate Castanea Farms. Growing Chinese chestnuts for culinary nut production provides them with a great opportunity to relay the story of the American Chestnut to customers across the USA. “It has been exciting to see the changes in the organization over the past 20 years.”

    *The PA/NJ Chapter has a 2-2-2 process for their presidents, allowing for training and retention of institutional knowledge prior to and during leadership transitions.

  • A man wearing glasses and a light blue checkered button-up shirt, standing outdoors with green foliage in the background.

    Peter Reinhart

    Board Treasurer

    CPA and active volunteer for PA/NJ TACF, Peter not only lends his talents as the board treasurer, he also participates in outreach events and serves on the TACF national board. Peter resides with his wife in Allentown, PA.

Our Staff

  • A man with a bald head wearing a blue polo shirt examining a small plant in a black pot, using a yellow measuring stick for scale in a nursery or greenhouse setting.

    Lake Graboski

    North Central Regional Science Coordinator

    Before joining TACF staff in 2024, Lake worked nine years as a volunteer for the organization establishing new chestnut orchards, collecting data, performing outreach, serving two years on the PA-NJ chapter board, and conserving wild-type American chestnuts. Lake completed an M.S. in Ecology in 2019 focused on forest ecology. Prior to joining TACF, Lake was an environmental scientist for Mountain Research, LLC in Altoona, PA. He is also a former PA DCNR state park ranger.

  • Man smiling in a greenhouse holding a young plant in a black pot, surrounded by other plants in containers.

    Noah Vincent

    Orchard Manager

    Originally from Fogelsville Pennsylvania, Noah studied at Susquehanna University and earned a B.S. in Ecology. His senior capstone focused on forest succession with the presence of invasive plant species. Prior to working with Chestnut trees, he was a Plant Healthcare Specialist and Arborist at Monster Tree Service and Cutting Edge Tree Professionals.

  • A woman with dark hair smiling and resting her face on her hand, wearing a beige, white, and brown plaid scarf.

    Audrey Owen

    Chapter Administrator

    Audrey has enjoyed a long career as a professional photographer. While her business was full time in Florida from its inception in 2008, her relocation to State College, PA in 2023 opened up an opportunity to add something new to her repertoire, as administrator for the PA/NJ chapter of TACF, where she gets to flex many of the same muscles she uses in her business. Having always felt a certain kinship with her favorite trees, Audrey feels right at home being a part of TACF.