About Us

Welcome to the New York Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation! We are dedicated to restoring the American chestnut in New York State.

Harvesting an American chestnut at TACFs Meadowview Research Farms

How is TACF Restoring the American Chestnut?

TACF engages in a multi-pronged effort to create a disease-resistant American chestnut, including traditional breeding techniques and genetic modification.

The majority of TACF staff and volunteers are involved in an advanced breeding approach called Recurrent Genomic Selection (RGS) that uses genetic testing to maximize breeding selections. Sometimes referred to as “Best by Best”, this approach is expected to significantly increase resistance to Phytophthora root rot and chestnut blight within two breeding generations, while maintaining American chestnut form and function. In addition, efforts are made to conserve the range-wide genetic diversity of this growing population of trees for use in future breeding.

TACF is also working with a variety of scientific partners to develop transgenic (introducing genes from other plant species) and cisgenic (introducing genes from other chestnut species of the same genus) methods to increase blight resisitance, as well as other biotech methods such as RNAi (RNA interference) to impede growth of the blight fungus.

Fresh Leadership for the New York Chapter

The Executive Committee of The American Chestnut Foundation’s (TACF) Board of Directors voted in May 2025 to establish a newly restructured, unincorporated New York (NY) Chapter.

We warmly welcome a dynamic new leadership team:

NY Chapter Board

Nathan Hudson, President

Nathan Hudson currently works as Senior Researcher specializing in forest health, ecological restoration, and land stewardship. His work focuses on forest ecosystems, invasive species, forest insects, wildfire resilience, and the restoration of fire-adapted landscapes across New York. He also operates a small farm and forestry business whose mission is to connect people with their land, promote healthy resilient forests, support working landscapes, while helping achieve holistic land management goals that regenerate the agrarian landscape for future generations. Nate is passionate about bridging the gap between research, on-the-ground management, and building a community of practice. He enjoys working with landowners, foresters, farmers, and conservation partners to create lasting benefits for forests, wildlife, and rural communities.

Henry Skelsey Jr, Vice President

Henry Skelsey Jr is a father of 3 and a passionate native plant gardener. He spends his free time converting his Westchester New York property back to native plantings, which include chestnut saplings from the ACF’s annual seed sales. His love of the ACF’s mission started over a decade ago when he sprouted his first chestnuts in his Manhattan apartment. He brings 15 years of professional experience in the technology and management consulting industries, helping growth stage companies scale into their next phase of maturity. He holds a B.A. in Political Science and Chinese from Wake Forest University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Adrienne Kaplan, Secretary

Adrienne Kaplan graduated from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and has worked as an administrative assistant at an environmental organization.

Kurt Dirr, Treasurer

Kurt Dirr graduated from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry with a bachelor’s degree in environmental resources engineering and a minor in water resources. From there Kurt worked as a design consultant for civil, drinking water, and wastewater design and construction projects throughout the northeast United States addressing treatment, storage, and conveyance issues. Currently, Kurt is working in a role which blends his interest in protecting the environment and improving public infrastructure through civil engineering improvement projects for public boat launches throughout New York State.

Shenequa Perry, Membership and Outreach Coordinator

Shenequa Perry graduated from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry with her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Biology. While getting her degree she served as the undergraduate student association’s director of sustainability and led the Village of Homer, New York to Bronze level certification as a Climate Smart Community. She is passionate about land stewardship and would love to see the American Chestnut return to its rightful place in our ecosystems.

Erik Heidenfelder, Volunteer Coordinator for Regions 3, 4, and 5 (Hudson Valley and Catskills)

Erik Heidenfelder achieved his Bachelor’s in Forest Resource Management from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 2023 with a minor in Business Management. He has professional experience in industrial forest management, private forestry consulting, arboriculture, and forest nursery practice. Currently, he works as a forest technician and environmental educator in the Catskill region of New York State. Erik is excited about helping proliferate the American chestnut for its legendary timber quality and its value as a staple food source for wildlife and humans.

Jason Smith, Volunteer Coordinator for Region 2 (New York City Metro Area)

Jason’s interests include gardening, painting, and most importantly— growing and giving away as many American Chestnut seedlings as possible! Recent collaborative research has focused on forest restoration, wetland function, and perceptions of nature in cities. In his capacity as the Director of Northern Manhattan Parks for the New York Restoration Project, he manages the stewardship of parklands and implements projects that enhance the resilience of northern Manhattan. Prior to working at NYRP, Jason taught art and design at SUNY Buffalo and Canisius College. Jason is motivated to find creative and collaborative approaches to improving the sustainability, beauty, and equity of cities.

Bart Chezar, Advisor

For most of his professional career Bart worked at the New York State Energy and Research Authority, and the New York Power Authority. His initial positions were as an environmental scientist, followed by R&D engineer, and finally director of electric transportation. The focus of this work was environmental assessments, energy conservation, and electric transportation technologies. Following retirement, Bart initiated a number of independently developed projects including oyster restoration in New York Harbor, demonstrating eelgrass restoration, and investigating Blue mussels in New York Harbor. In 2004 he became involved in American chestnut tree restoration and has led the restoration effort for chestnuts in Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and Green-Wood Cemetery. In partnership with NYRP, Bart initiated the NYC 1000 American Chestnut Challenge.

Contact

TACF NY Chapter

Science

For information about growing American chestnuts or American chestnut research in NY, please contact TACF’s North Central Regional Science Coordinator, Lake Graboski, at gro.fcat@iksobarG.ekaL.

Former NY Chapter

The former NY Chapter is now named American Chestnut Restoration, Inc. For information about this organization, please contact Allen Nichols at moc.liamg@57.slohcinkjaf.

To learn more about this transition, read the news post Changes to TACF’s NY Chapter.