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

    Peter Reinhart has been a member of TACF since 2017.  Peter has served as Treasurer of the PA/NJ Chapter since 2019 and is also the Chapter’s Membership Chair.  He is active in outreach events promoting and engaging the public in the mission of chestnut restoration.  He currently serves as a member of the TACF Finance Committee. The mission, goals, vision and core values of TACF are essential in his ongoing quest in promoting chestnut restoration and furthering his interest in being a citizen scientist.  Peter’s professional career spans over 38 years at a Philadelphia based financial wealth management firm and has deep expertise in the financial markets, particularly in fixed-income.

    Peter resides in Allentown, PA with his wife, two parrots, a bevy of chickens and ducks, and spends his time fishing, bird-watching, gardening, planting and growing chestnuts, and tending to his honey bees.

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 transitioned to environmental conservation following a fulfilling 22-year career as a professional photographer, including 18 years as a successful small business owner. Upon relocating from southwest Florida to central Pennsylvania, she joined the PA/NJ Chapter of TACF as Chapter Administrator and immediately connected with its community and mission. Following an 18-month regional tenure showcasing her creative, technical, and interpersonal skills, she stepped into a TACF national role focused on website administration and collaborative communications. Today, Audrey divides her time between national and chapter initiatives. Having always felt a certain kinship with her favorite trees, she feels right at home being a part of TACF.