Board and Staff

Tom Abendroth, MD

Tom was elected to the Board in 2017 after being a supporting member of the Conservancy for many years. As current President and chair of the Administration Committee, Tom’s focus is on ensuring the long-term future of Manada Conservancy.

Tom’s professional work combines his medical training with providing information technology and analytical expertise as Chief of Medical Informatics at Penn State Health and Chief Medical Officer at Prescient Medicine. His hobbies include outdoor activities and creating beverages and desserts to share with family and friends.

Anthea Stebbins

Anthea joined our Board of Directors in early 2020, having previously served on our Outreach Committee as well as several joint planning groups with Manada Conservancy. Anthea has significant social work experience and served as the Parks and Recreation Director at East Hanover Township, managing the site plan project for that township’s open space and Greenway plan, as well as grant-writing, overseeing programming, budgeting, and community outreach. She is currently the Director of Dauphin County Parks and Recreation.

Anthea enjoys working on projects that raise awareness about health benefits of outdoor recreation, advocating for local land preservation and stewardship, and spending time with others hiking, biking, kayaking, and traveling.

Anita Pritchett

Anita has held a number of roles with the Conservancy. Most recently, she has served as our Interim Executive Director. She’s been particularly focused on strategic planning, from her efforts as Program Coordinator on our 2017-2021 strategic plan, to leading us through our Strategic Conservation Plan update in 2019, to her Board member work on our current strategic plan.

Prior to her family’s move to Hershey, Anita was a senior policy analyst for NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program. Additional non-profit experience comes from her time starting a biodiversity program at the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions. She has an MS in Zoology from the University of Hawaii and is currently working on an MS in Emergency Management. She enjoys watching her 3 kids play sports, going hiking and paddleboarding, volunteering with Scouts, and documenting all of the above with her camera.

Kyle D'Angelo

Kyle has provided strategic accounting and business expertise to the Board and to the Administration & Finance Committee during his four-year tenure. He is a CPA and works for the Hershey Trust Company as Director of Financial Reporting, Planning & Analysis. He graduated from Moravian College with a Bachelors in Accounting and a minor in Business Management. Kyle also has a Masters of Finance from Pennsylvania State University.

Kyle has a special appreciation for the Swatara Creek and our Swatara Greenway Stewardship program, and he enjoys kayaking and canoeing its waters. Other interests include hiking and road biking.

Virginia Bonifant

Virginia joined the Board of Directors in 2024. Currently, she chairs the Stewardship and Habitat Restoration Committee. She brings a varied background to her work with the Conservancy, with an undergraduate degree and work experience in Environmental Science and an advanced degree in Clinical Psychology.

Virginia is an avid reader, a constant learner, and an active citizen determined to create the type of community she wants to live in through volunteering. She recognizes the healing value of the natural environment.

For a few years, she lived with her family in Shanghai, China. Due to the air, water and soil pollution, keeping her family healthy felt like a constant battle. Living with the consequences of not protecting the environment has fueled her commitment to preserve and protect our natural world.

Moira Cullen

Moira joined Manada Conservancy’s Board of Directors in October 2022. She has served on the Communications and Development Committee for several years before becoming chair. She is passionate about preserving the inspirational beauty of our natural lands and habitat to balance Dauphin County’s growth.

An internationally recognized design leader, writer, educator and speaker, she advanced and led design at some of the world’s most iconic (and beloved) brands – The Hershey Company, The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, method products, and Hallmark Cards.

She holds an enduring belief in design’s (and nature’s) power to engage hearts and minds.

Jennifer Fetter

Jennifer Fetter is a conservation professional and environmental educator, currently serving as Director of Penn State Extension's Center for Agricultural Conservation Assistance Training. Her personal and professional lives overlap significantly, as she deeply enjoys extending her knowledge of natural systems to others.

In her free time, Jennifer can be found in her gardens, walking her dog, or simply standing in the sun outside her East Hanover Township home. Before living in Dauphin County, she crisscrossed Pennsylvania from Philadelphia to Erie but never lived outside the state. Jennifer graduated from Villanova University, earning her BS and MS in Biology there.

Paul Roundy

Paul Roundy comes to our Board with a broad-based technology background, having been the Chief Information officer, manager or director for companies in Buffalo, Harrisburg, Chicago and Colorado before his early retirement in 2017. He is an Army Veteran and has received the Army Commendation Medal.

Paul's experience in leadership, business, and technology benefitted Manada Conservancy even before he joined the Board in 2024. Both Paul and his partner, Leslie, have volunteered for the Conservancy over the years. Paul has participated in many property monitoring trips and has gotten to know our projects both through his presence on the Land Protection Committee and his on-the-ground experience.

Paul is also a world traveler and recently spent time volunteering for the National Park Service in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.

Hilary Peery Vesell

Hilary joined the Manada Conservancy’s Board of Directors in December 2021, having already served on our Outreach/Fundraising and Preservation Committees for several years. She is passionate about preserving our natural world for the many benefits to both people and wildlife.

Hilary has a BA in psychology and MA in clinical psychology both from Columbia University. She received her law degree from the University of Miami, School of Law. Hilary is a trial attorney focusing on family law matters and civil litigation. She is in private practice in Hershey, where she was born and raised. In her free time, Hilary enjoys reading, horseback riding, and otherwise spending time outdoors in nature.

Sally Zaino

One of Manada Conservancy’s original founders, Sally has held many position over the years, including Executive Director and President. She chairs the Land Protection Committee, which evaluates and brings new projects to the Board.

In 2020 she was awarded the PA Forestry Association Mira Lloyd Dock Conservationist of the Year Award for her work in helping to preserve Pennsylvania’s forests. She serves on the WeConservePA Policy Committee and the Horse-Shoe Trail Board.

Sally is also a writer and poet, and her writing often reflects her interests in land preservation, wildlife habitat connectivity, the value of wilderness for human well-being. With her husband, Rich, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, and birdwatching.

Will Dingman, Executive Director

Will became part of the Manada Conservancy team in September 2022. He has worked in the natural resources field for over 30 years, most recently as Land Management Supervisor with the PA Game Commission. As Executive Director for the Conservancy, he is responsible for operational oversight, personnel, development, and advancing the strategic goals of the Conservancy.

Will and his wife, Gretchen, raise goats and cattle as a hobby in Schuylkill County. They enjoy kayaking and other outdoor pursuits that are enhanced by the protection of our natural and agricultural lands.

Jennifer Dunlap, Land Protection Director

Formerly our Executive Director, Jen returns to Manada Conservancy as Land Protection Director. She brings a wealth of knowledge about our projects and partnerships, and is thrilled to be directing her attention to land protection in this new role.

In Jen's words: "As Land Protection Director, I am fortunate to be able to focus my time on working to protect the creeks and woodlands I grew up with. I am grateful to have had these spaces to explore throughout my life and want future generations to have them too."

In her free time, Jen enjoys kayaking the Swatara Creek with her husband and spending as much time as possible outdoors introducing their daughter to nature.

Shawn Jacobs, Stewardship Director

Shawn became part of the Conservancy team in June 2023. As our Stewardship Director, Shawn helps to manage, support, and grow efforts to create a corridor of restored and protected land along the Swatara Creek through landowner outreach and restorative buffer projects.

Shawn spent 12 years in the Navy before working as a manager in the telecommunications field for the last 22 years. He is a PA Master Naturalist, PennState Extension Master Watershed Steward, and a certified Level 1 Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional.

In his free time, Shawn enjoys outdoor activities that cover all four seasons. He and his partner Stephanie have three cats.

Brooke DiPaula, Conservation Easement Steward

Joining the Conservancy team as Conservation Easement Steward in 2023, Brooke's responsibilities include the annual monitoring of all eased properties. She previously served as an AmeriCorps NCCC member where she gained appreciation for the importance of land trusts. Brooke is excited to contribute to the future of land conservation with Manada Conservancy.

Brooke brings a background knowledge of non-profits and conservation, and she is a permitted Wildlife Rehabilitator in Pennsylvania. She is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Wildlife Conservation and Management through Unity Environmental University and will graduate in May 2024.

Brooke enjoys many activities and hobbies including weight lifting, kayaking, snowboarding, scuba diving, pottery, and coaching gymnastics. Her love of outdoor activities fuels her passion for protecting the land and the animals that we share it with.

Christine Silvis, Finance Manager

Chris joined the Manada Conservancy staff in 2013. As Finance Manager, she keeps records in good order, pays bills, and assists with budget and accounting work. She first learned about Manada Conservancy through the Native Plant Sale and has been slowly transforming her yard into a suburban oasis for wildlife. Now that her children are older, Chris is able to engage her passion for environmental education and preservation.

Chris has a BS in biology from Allegheny College and a MS in molecular physiology from Penn State College of Medicine. She is involved with the Friends of the Hershey Public Library, where she once worked in the Children’s Department. Besides taking care of a busy household, Chris’ hobbies include camping, hiking, bird watching and travel.

Karen Haldeman, Office Manager

Karen joined the Manada Conservancy team as Office Manager in 2017. In this role, she provides administrative support, manages donor and volunteer records, and assists with programs and events. Editing our newsletter and other publications allows her to use her degree in English. Karen especially enjoys interacting with the Conservancy’s friends and members.

In addition to being active at her church, Karen and her husband, Tim, maintain a large garden with vegetables to share and preserve. Along with their daughter, son-in-law, and young grandchildren, they enjoy hiking local trails and kayaking on the Swatara Creek. Karen also enjoys baking, poetry, tending her native pollinator garden, watching the coals of a campfire, and looking at the night sky.