The Friends of Michaux State Forest is led by a nine-member elected board that includes four elected officers and the District Forester as a non-voting member. Board members serve a term of three years and officers are elected annually. We are always looking for new leadership. Contact the board at friendsofmichauxstateforest@gmail.com.
Donald Horn, Chair – The Michaux has been a part of Don’s life since childhood. The Gardners tree farm he grew up on adjoined the Michaux State Forest. His father taught him the importance of nature and that it is our responsibility to preserve God’s creation. He graduated from the Cumberland County Conservation School, worked for the Youth Conservation Corp, served on the board of the Scott Eckert Memorial Conservation Scholarship Foundation, and on the Mount Holly Springs Park and Recreation Board. During the past several years, he has donated many hours to DCNR cleaning trails, and recently painting signs. Serving as a Firefighter/EMT for over 20 years, he was trained in wilderness first aid and wildfire suppression.
Tawnya Finney, Vice Chair – Tawnya is an accomplished educator with 20+ years of experience instructing and cultivating lifelong learning with today’s youth. She has focused on experiential education through training from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s Trail to Every Classroom, and she is National Geographic Teacher Certified. As a volunteer with the PATC for many years, she is the Tumbling Run Shelter caretaker, a trail maintainer on the Tuscarora Trail, and a hike leader for PATC and the Greater Waynesboro AT Community. She is in the Michaux State Forest almost every day.
Jennifer Henry, Secretary – Jen and her family have lived just a short walk from the Michaux State Forest boundary for over 10 years and they love running, biking, hiking, paddling, and bird watching. Jen is interested in reconnecting folks with the forest, providing them with opportunities to explore and learn about the resources of MSF. She is probably most well known in the MSF community as the organizer for the famous Buck Ridge Burn.
Emma Grove, Treasurer – Completed her Bachler’s Degree from Shippensburg University in 2025 majoring in accounting. Emma plans on continuing working full time at Smith Elliott Kearns CPA’s and Advisors (SEK). Where she has worked since the Spring of 2023 and has just finished her third tax season. She plans to obtain her CPA license as soon as possible after completing her Master’s. Emma enjoys reading, hiking, running, and swimming. She is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honors Society, swam on the university’s women’s swim team. Emma was named to the Academic All-District Team for combined performance in academics and in sport (GPA 3.924). Emma has volunteered with Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) this year from February-April providing tax preparation services for low-income families/individuals. Since the fall of 2022, she volunteers with Special Olympics as a swim coach for Capital Area where she coaches and provides swim lessons for children with intellectual disabilities.
Jon Cox – Jon grew up in Wellsboro, PA, where he learned to appreciate the outdoors, including hunting, fly-fishing and hiking in the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. Jon went to Dickinson College, where he was an Environmental Science and Geology double major, and where he first encountered and grew to love the Michaux as a board member and then president of the Dickinson College Outing Club. After College, Jon worked for the US Geological Survey in Golden, CO, doing primarily GIS work. In 2003, Jon and his wife Karen moved back to Carlisle so that Jon could attend law school. He currently practices law for Eckert Seamans in Harrisburg as a public finance lawyer. Jon has served on the boards of the Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation and the Carlisle Family YMCA. Jon is an active mountain biker and supporter of youth cycling, including as a coach of the Carlisle Area Composite Racing team.
Chris Firme – Chris has an impressive record of public service and volunteerism. He has volunteered with the PATC since the mid-1980s and has held a number of leadership roles with that group. He served as a Washington Township Supervisor and currently serves on the Washington Township Planning Commission. He is an inaugural board member for the Antietam Watershed Association. At the state level, Chris serves on the Pennsylvania A.T. Advisory Committee and the Pennsylvania Trails Advisory Committee. Chris holds a BS in both Wildlife/Fisheries and Biology (Plants) from Frostburg State University, and spent 30+ years with the Maryland Department of Agriculture-Forest Pest Management section.
Donald Lehigh – Don has been interested in outdoor activity since he was 3 or 4 years old. Somewhere in the 1980s he learned that Michaux existed and was a state forest where one could wander around. He proceeded to get lost while wandering, and learned how to use the public use map and a compass to get found. He went hunting a LOT but has taken only a very few deer. He introduced a number of friends to Michaux, who promptly went hunting without him and were singularly successful. He has been involved as a volunteer on the target range, which includes “marketing” to shooters who show up and have lots of stories to tell other shooters. He is strongly motivated to learn more about forests and forestry in general and Michaux in particular, and pass that knowledge on to others.
Jason Ryan – Jason grew up in Orrtanna, PA, just near the Michaux State Forest. Because of that, he has spent a lot of time within the forest. Jason has a love for the outdoors and enjoys hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, bushcraft, and preserving our natural resources. For nearly 20 years, Jason has worked for Abraxas Youth & Family Services. More specifically he works at the Abraxas Youth Center located within Michaux’s South Mountain region. There he runs a vocational/community service program for their youth. Jason and his team began cleaning up litter throughout the forest. Over time they developed a relationship with DCNR that has led to numerous other projects including graffiti removal, trail work, campsite stewardship, and many other tasks throughout the forest. About a year ago Jason was asked to sit on the board, as he and his team spend many hours each week in the Michaux doing volunteer work and can offer his perspective as both a longtime volunteer and user of the forest.
Dee Utz – Dee graduated from Millersville University with a degree in Special Education, however found her true passion to be in the field of EMS. She has worked and volunteered with several agencies in Lancaster County, leaving her position of paramedic with Wellspan Ephrata Community Hospital after 28 rewarding years of service. She is an EMS educator, licensed HAM radio operator and a member of Middle Creek Search and Rescue. Now in semi-retirement she finds more time to focus on her love for the trail. She serves as President of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, North Chapter, whose overseers maintain the AT and many of the side trails within the Michaux State Forest. She owns a cabin in Michaux and is vested to see the forest remain strong and healthy for all those who visit.
Charlie Van Auken – Charlie has been involved with horses for over 50 years owning one or several throughout those years, and his passion is trail riding – he has hiked and ridden trails throughout this country and state. He has been a member of Bonny Brook Riding Club, and became involved with the Pennsylvania Equine Council, where he is currently in his fourth term as a board member.
John Wah – John is a soil scientist specializing in soils in archaeology, with a particular interest in the soils, landscapes, and geology of Michaux and South Mountain and the interaction of people and these natural resources in the past. He is most familiar with the central part of Michaux from Pine Grove Furnace to the town of South Mountain but has recently been spending more time at the south end of the Forest around Maria Furnace. He appreciates the recreational and educational opportunities that Michaux offers, and regularly takes students to the State Forest for practical learning.
Roy Brubaker – Roy is the district forester for the Bureau of Forestry’s District 1, the 85,000 acre Michaux State Forest. As district forester, Roy oversees management and operations of the Michaux State Forest. Prior to moving to the Michaux, Roy worked out of the Bureau of Forestry’s central office in Harrisburg as part of the Planning and Ecological Services Section, focusing on state-wide forest management policy and planning issues.
Isaiah Pekins – Isaiah grew up in central Florida where he enjoyed hiking, canoeing and exploring. He moved to Pennsylvania in 2011 and has enjoyed exploring the Michaux State Forest and the Appalachian Trail. He stewards Camps Trail and Fegley Rd. and has a passion to learn and teach his sons about useful plants, wildlife and all aspects of forestry. Isaiah volunteers on the pollinator garden at the Caledonia State Park office and hopes to engage others in understanding the importance of pollinators.
Darrin Youker – Darrin has participated in several events organized by the Friends group including trail building and the bike race in September. He spends most of his recreational time in the Michaux State Forest as an avid hiker and mountain biker also enjoys fishing and hunting in the area. Having served on his communities park and recreational commission for the past seven years, I am looking to expand my volunteer time and give back to organizations that act as stewards for open space and outdoor recreation.
Friends of Michaux State Forest 