Board of Directors

David Wagner is a retired principal of the professional services firm KPMG LLP, where he served as Deputy General Counsel and as an advisory principal in the Risk Management group.  Following retirement, David has acted as a consultant to the US and International KPMG firms.  David joined the board of the institute in 2017 and previously chaired the audit and budget and finance committees.  David grew up in Kansas and is a lifelong conservationist.  He is twenty years into a project to establish a native grass prairie at his property in Hop Bottom, Pennsylvania.

David received a bachelor's degree in theatre from Grinnell College and his law degree from the University of Iowa.  Following law school David was a law clerk to the Honorable Harold D. Vietor, chief judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, and in private practice before joining KPMG.  David resides in New York City.

The Director of Bham Now, a modern local media company, Pat Byington is a longtime conservationist.  Former Executive Director at the Alabama Environmental Council and Wild South. Publisher of the Bama Environmental News for more than 18 years. Career highlights include  playing an active role in the creation of Alabama's Forever Wild program, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Dugger Mountain Wilderness, preservation of special places throughout the East through the Wilderness Society and the strengthening (making more stringent) the  state of Alabama's cancer risk and mercury standards. 

Ms. Collier has over 25 years of experience in environmental management,  water resources, and land use planning. She is the Senior Advisor for  Watershed Management and Policy at the Academy of Natural Sciences in  Philadelphia, PA. At the Academy, Carol holds an active leadership role  supporting the work of the Patrick Center for Environmental Researchin monitoring and improving the health of watersheds in the Delaware  River Basin. She previously served as Executive Director of the Delaware  River Basin Commission (DRBC).  Prior to joining DRBC, she worked for  Governor Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, heading up his 21st Century  Environment Commission and served as Regional Director of the Southeast  Region, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.  She also  worked 19 years in the private sector.  She is educated in aquatic  biology and regional planning, is a licensed professional planner, a  member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a Senior Certified Ecologist. 

Having spent the past 31 years in Europe and the Middle East, Tamara Chant recently returned to her native home of Milford, Pennsylvania to  join her children and parents. A Smith College graduate, Tamara managed  marketing and sponsorship for Top Marques Monaco, a luxury car and goods  exhibitor, in Monaco and Abu Dhabi. Tamara began working with  non-profit organizations after completing a certification in fundraising  at NYU, shifting her focus toward activism for vulnerable populations.  She was recently appointed Executive Director of Safe Haven of Pike County, a domestic violence and sexual assault resource agency. Tamara  also serves as a board member for the Nepal Orphans Home and the Good Shepherd Child Care Center. 

Emile has been the Manager of Science and Stewardship at the New Jersey  Conservation Foundation since 1989. He received a doctorate in Ecology in 1988 for research on bird communities and vegetation landscapes in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens. Dr. DeVito develops management plans for NJCF’s 20,000+ acres of holdings designed to protect and enhance biological diversity. Emile educates government officials, advocacy groups, land trusts, teachers and  students on forest-interior habitat and migratory stopover needs of Neotropical songbirds. He is a trustee of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance and the NJ Natural Lands Trust. He serves on the Endangered and Non-Game Species Advisory Committee within the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, the New Jersey Invasive Species Council, and the Science  Advisory Committee of the NY-NJ Trail Conference.  

 John Donahue is a conservation leader and former President and Executive Director of the Pinchot Institute for Conservation. His 38-year National Park Service career included 24 years as a superintendent, with his final 14 years at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. There, he helped establish the $66 million Middle Delaware Fund and oversaw projects involving habitat restoration, historic preservation, and park infrastructure.

Following his retirement, John served as president of Three Rivers Environmental Consulting from 2018 to 2023. His work included watershed conservation with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and helping establish the Climate Conservation Corps at New Jersey Youth Corps Phillipsburg. He became the Institute’s President and Executive Director in January 2023.

John completed the Senior Executive Fellows program at Harvard Kennedy School and the Public Leadership Program at the Brookings Institution. His nonprofit service has included the New Jersey Highlands Coalition, the National Parks Conservation Association’s Northeast Advisory Council, and the George Wright Society, where he served as treasurer and vice president.

Brian Kittler leads American Forests’ Resilient Forests program, advancing policies and practices for resilient reforestation and forest climate solutions. His work connects science, policy, and land management to support healthy forests, clean water, biodiversity, and communities.

Before joining American Forests in 2020, Brian worked on forest conservation programs and policy at the Pinchot Institute for Conservation and Sustainable Northwest. He also directed financial and technical assistance for watershed restoration at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. He served on the federal Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, helping develop consensus recommendations to Congress on the nation’s wildfire challenges.

Brian’s advisory service has included work with the State of Oregon on forest carbon, the International Energy Agency, and the Forest Stewardship Council. His published research addresses reforestation, forest carbon management, certification, and collaborative public land stewardship. He holds degrees in policy and science from Colby College and Johns Hopkins University.

Ken Klipstein is President of the Pocono Wildlife Foundation and a conservation leader whose work connects land protection, watershed restoration, and community stewardship. He retired in 2025 as Director of Watershed Protection Programs at the New Jersey Water Supply Authority, following a career that also included 20 years with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, where he served as a bureau chief in the Division of Watershed Management.

At NJDEP, Ken helped establish the AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassadors Program, which promotes watershed education, stream monitoring, and community involvement throughout New Jersey. He also co-founded the Tewksbury Land Trust and has served as president of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and the Blooming Grove Hunting and Fishing Club.

Ken continues his public service on the New Jersey Water Supply Authority’s board, representing private watershed associations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental planning from Rutgers University.

Doug MacCleery retired from the U.S. Forest Service in April 2010. He is a

professional forester who has worked in natural resource management at both the field and policy levels. He obtained bachelor’s and masters degrees in forestry and forest policy from Michigan State University. Doug spent his early career in northern California as a field forester for the Forest Service. He then left the Forest Service for experience in the private sector, taking a position as a forest policy analyst for the National Forest Products Association in Washington, D.C. Between 1981 and 1987, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a position which has policy

oversight over the Forest Service and Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service).

In 1987, he returned to the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C., where he was a Senior Policy Analyst in the Forest Management division. His work in the headquarters office of the Forest Service was varied – he was a primary architect of stewardship contracting in the Forest Service and also focused on writing about the historical evolution of forests and forest policy in the United States, as well as in evaluating and promoting forest policy reforms in the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. forest sector in general. He is also active in writing and speaking on the environmental and land use history of U.S. forests. He authored American Forests: A History of Resiliency and Recovery and other writings on forest history and policy.

Doug retired in 2010. In retirement, he did consulting work on forest policy

internationally, especially in Bulgaria and Peru and is on the Board of Directors of

the Forest History Society.

Dr. Masino is the Vernon D. Roosa Professor of Applied Science at Trinity College and a joint appointment in Neuroscience and Psychology. Her research focuses on promoting and restoring brain health, with a particular interest in adenosine, and on the relationship among metabolism, brain activity and behavior. For nearly 100 years a metabolic therapy called a “ketogenic diet” has been used to treat seizures, and recent mechanistic insights - including the role of adenosine – hold translational implications for brain health and diverse disorders.

In addition to her laboratory research Dr. Masino is interested in how public polices can improve brain health - with a special focus on New England’s amazing forests - and involved in local educational and environmental issues. During 2018-2019 she is a Charles Bullard Fellow in Forest Research at Harvard, and published a paper on the benefits of proforestation for climate change mitigation, biodiversity, and public health. 

John Phipps retired from the USDA Forest Service in 2021 after more than 45 years of service. His career spanned forest management, research, and national leadership, culminating in his role as Deputy Chief for State and Private Forestry.

John served as Forest Supervisor of the Eldorado and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forests and as Deputy Regional Forester for the Eastern Region. From 2008 to 2015, he was Associate Deputy Chief and Senior Advisor for State and Private Forestry, helping strengthen the agency’s safety culture and improve fire and aviation management. He subsequently led the Rocky Mountain Research Station as Station Director from 2015 to 2019 before returning to the national office as Deputy Chief.

His experience brings together practical land stewardship, scientific research, and organizational leadership. John holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in natural resources management from the University of Washington.

Peter Pinchot is co-founder and CEO of Whole Forest, a forestry and wood products company working with communities in Ecuador to connect rainforest conservation with local livelihoods. Building on the EcoMadera initiative supported by the Pinchot Institute, his work brings together forest research, community enterprise, and markets for wood products as an economic alternative to clearing forests for agriculture.

Since beginning his work in Ecuador in 2002, Peter has helped develop an approach that links management of the Chocó rainforest with local manufacturing and customers in the United States. His focus includes conserving biodiversity, maintaining forest carbon, and creating employment through sustainable forestry.

Peter’s earlier work includes organic dairy farming in upstate New York, community redevelopment in Brooklyn, founding the Pocono Streams Project, and directing the Milford Experimental Forest, where his research addressed deer management, American chestnut restoration, and community forestry. He holds a master’s degree in environmental studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.