Our Board of Directors Executive Committee

  • 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.

  • 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.

    A love of the outdoors was rekindled after retirement 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.


  • 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.

  • 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 for the organization. Peter resides with his wife in Allentown, PA.

Our Staff

  • Sara Fitzsimmons

    Chief Conservation Officer

    Sara Fern Fitzsimmons has worked with The American Chestnut Foundation at Penn State University since 2003, assisting chestnut growers and researchers throughout the Appalachian Mountains. Born and raised in southern West Virginia (Hinton), Sara studied Biology at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. She then received an M.S. in Forest Ecology and Resource Management from Duke University’s Nicholas School. After a short stint as an editorial assistant at All About Beer Magazine, Sara returned to the forestry field where she has been ever since. Sara hopes her research and professional work will facilitate long-term conservation and restoration of native tree species at risk from exotic pests and diseases.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Audrey Owen

    Chapter Administrator

    Audrey has enjoyed a long career as a professional photographer for the last 20 years. 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.

    Audrey took over the position in early 2025 when Jean Najjar retired. She feels honored to be working to fill the “big shoes” that Jean left after 10 years with PA/NJ TACF, and loves working with fellow tree huggers.