Our Team - PA Wilds Center

ABOUT OUR TEAM

PA Wilds Center is a nonprofit organization that serves 13 counties in north central and northwestern Pennsylvania, one of the largest blocks of green between New York City and Chicago. Our staff and administrative support are spread across the region, with our program staff working remotely and our shop employees working on public lands and in communities. This allows us to be nimble and be true stewards of our region, as we are engrained in the communities we serve.

PA Wilds Center's Chief Executive Team

Meet the founding CEO and COO, who manage the teams and oversee the nonprofit

Sustainable Commerce Team

Meet the staff behind the mission-driven PA Wilds Conservation Shops and Marketplace

Marketing & Membership Team

Meet the team managing marketing and outreach activities for the nonprofit and its networks

Finance & Administrative Team

Meet the team behind managing the financial side of our nonprofit's operations

Contracted Support Services

Meet the independent contractors who provide additional capacity to the PA Wilds Center staff

Chief Executive Team

Ta Enos

Founder & CEO

A fourth-generation resident of the region, Ta has a rural entrepreneurship background and 20 years of experience in journalism and public communications in Alaska and Pennsylvania. As Founder and CEO of the PA Wilds Center, Ta has scaled the nonprofit and built a team that is developing models for asset-based rural development that are recognized nationally. Prior to founding the nonprofit in 2013, Ta served as the PA Wilds Small Business Ombudsman for five years, working with entrepreneurs across the 13-county PA Wilds region. A former journalist, Ta is the author of an upcoming memoir about her experience leading the PA Wilds work, which is expected to be released in 2024-25.

Abbi Peters

Founding COO

The Center’s first hire, Abbi oversees organization-wide programs, strategies and approaches. The first Chief Operations Officer at the Center, she co-founded four of the Center’s most visible programs: The Wilds Cooperative of PA network of rural entrepreneurs; the PA Wilds Conservation Shop, a growing retail operation based at state parks in the PA Wilds that help rural entrepreneurs get products to market while improving the visitor experience; the PA Wilds Marketplace, an online retail commerce platform; and Round-Up for Conservation, a charity checkout campaign that reinvests in state parks and forests in the region. After attending Kutztown University, Abbi moved to Los Angeles before relocating to the PA Wilds. She’s served as the leader of an arts nonprofit and in the magazine, fashion and music accessories industries.

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Sustainable Commerce Team

Libby Bloomquist

Sustainable Commerce Director

Libby joined the PA Wilds Center in 2017 and manages the PA Wilds commerce platforms, including the PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Kinzua Bridge State Park, a unique gift shop featuring items that have been designed and hand-crafted from artisans who are members of the Wilds Cooperative of Pennsylvania, and the PA Wilds Marketplace at ShopThePAWilds.com. Libby has played a critical role in helping the nonprofit develop its first PA Wilds Conservation Shop store into a replicable model that is now expanding across the region. The second physical store opened at Leonard Harrison State Park in 2021. A native of Kane, Libby graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford with a degree in Psychology. She spent 20 years in the Washington D.C. area managing retail stores before moving back to the PA Wilds in 2015.

Megan Steele

Marketplace Manager

Megan joined the PA Wilds team in 2023 as the Marketplace Manager for ShopthePAWilds.com, with a mission to grow the online marketplace and support the makers who sell there. Prior to working for PA Wilds Center, she worked alongside the PA Wilds team and its members to help grow the marketplace from an external role. For the past 5 years, she has worked closely with small businesses, understanding common challenges to help overcome them and be successful selling online. She is passionate about helping entrepreneurs grow, and sees ShopThePAWilds.com as a vital piece in making products from our region available to customers all over the country and the world.

Mary Beth Coker

Conservation Shop Manager

Mary Beth joined the PA Wilds Center team in 2024, as the manager for the Conservation Shop at Kinzua Bridge State Park, the unique gift shop that features items that reflect the history and beauty of the bridge, along with many other products designed and hand-crafted by artists within the Wilds Cooperative of Pennsylvania. Growing up in Georgia and attending The University of Alabama for a degree in Apparel and Textiles with a concentration in Retail Merchandising, she most recently moved to the PA Wilds from Norfolk, VA. Mary Beth has an extensive background in retail and retail management. She is excited to be a part of the PA Wilds team and getting to explore the PA Wilds landscape.

Jocelyn Sekera

Conservation Shop Manager

Jocelyn joined the PA Wilds Center team as manager of the PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Marienville in 2024. As manager, she oversees day-to-day operations at the shop, located in a beautifully renovated, historic, train depot, in Marienville. Jocelyn is a lifelong resident of Marienville with a background in healthcare. Her deep connection to her hometown, combined with her years of experience and passion for working with people, Jocelyn is dedicated to creating a welcoming and engaging experience for visitors and fostering a strong sense of community involvement. With Jocelyn’s warmth and leadership, she is passionate about being part of the PA Wilds team and making an impact on the community she loves.

Jason Burt

Community Connector Keyholder

Jason serves as the Community Connector Keyholder at the PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Kinzua Bridge State Park where he regularly interacts with customers and helps orient them to the attractions of the region. A PA Wilds native, Jason graduated Salutatorian from Smethport Area High School in 2001 and attended Lycoming College in Williamsport. After graduating cum laude with a degree in English/Creative Writing in 2005, Jason worked several years at The Bradford Era newspaper. As a reporter and then News Editor, he learned even more about this PA Wilds area as the paper covered local news in Cameron, Elk, McKean and Potter counties.

Jill Maier

Community Connector Keyholder

Jill joined the team in the 2022 season at the PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Leonard Harrison State Park as a Community Connector Keyholder. Jill grew up in Tioga County and had a career in outdoor recreation for nearly 40 years. Her businesses entailed providing horseback adventures and covered wagon rides to large and small groups, and also developing and packaging guided outdoor experiences with lodging and dining. Jill has been involved with county and regional tourism programs throughout her career and has always held the strong belief that providing experiences for people in the outdoors helps them to adopt a connection and appreciation for it. She welcomes the opportunity to assist small enterprises to grow and exist, as well as guiding visitors to wonderful places to experience while spending time in the PA Wilds region.

Jo Wolfe

Community Connector

As a Community Connector at the PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Kinzua Bridge State Park, Jo enjoys being able to make someone’s day by promoting the PA Wilds region, finding customers the perfect gift for their grandchildren, listening to their stories of “back-in-the-day”, or just offering someone a smile–or even a song. She joined the team after retiring from the Kane Area School District as an elementary educator with 37 years of service. Jo’s community service includes being an active member of The Presbyterian Church of Kane, singing in the church choir, serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children volunteer, as well as serving as President of the Board of Trustees for the Kane Area Children’s Museum. In her spare time, Jo enjoys playing the piano, swimming at the Bradford Family YMCA, or walking her family’s dog with her husband.

Jack Maxwell

Community Connector

Jack joined the team at the beginning of the 2024 season at the PA Wilds Conservation shop in the Marienville Four Seasons Trail Hub. As you walk through the sliding historic barn doors within the historically renovated train depot, he will greet you with a "Hello" followed by a "How are you?" He loves meeting and greeting different people and getting to know them genuinely. The quiet town of Marienville has so much to offer, and he hopes to grow and develop the town. Further, as a 6th-generation PA Wilds native, he is very passionate about where he comes from. He is significantly involved in his school, North Clarion High School. He participates in almost every club and organization his school offers, such as Envirothon, Academic Decathlon, Student Council, the Clarion County Youth Council, and so much more. He is very passionate about the PA Wilds and hopes to continue what he learns from here through college and his life.

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Communications, Marketing & Membership Team

LaKeshia Knarr

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Director

LaKeshia started working with the PA Wilds Center as a contractor in 2017, providing outreach services for the Wilds Cooperative of PA and youth entrepreneurship programming in area schools. She quickly grew into communications roles with the organization and became a full-time staff member in 2018. LaKeshia became Communications Director in 2020 and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Director in 2021. She now oversees the PA Wilds entrepreneurial ecosystem, which includes nonprofit communications, regional marketing, and the Wilds Cooperative of PA business network and related partnerships, programs and services. A PA Wilds native, LaKeshia earned dual degrees in Political Science and Art from Lock Haven University and worked in journalism before transitioning to the nonprofit sector.

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Britt Madera

Communications Manager

Britt joined the team as communications manager in 2022, helping to tell the stories that make our region so unique, whether that is covering our beautiful landscapes, the innovative businesses, or the spunky people that call it home. She had worked the last 10 years in radio and news broadcasting, and now she’s continuing to connect media outlets with positive news stories. Britt oversees external communications, media relations, and paid and volunteer content on the blog. As someone who grew up in Clearfield County and moved back shortly after college, Britt is eager to share her passion for the PA Wilds and help our area grow and shine.

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Ashley Fosbrink-Horrell

Value Chain Manager

Ashley joined the PA Wilds Center team in 2021 as a Community Connector Keyholder at the PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Kinzua Bridge State Park and the PA Wilds Media Lab. In 2023, Ashley became the Center's first Value Chain Manager. She manages the Wilds Cooperative of Pennsylvania, helps entrepreneurs discover new opportunities with the PA Wilds brand, supports the licensing program, and continues to play an integral role in PA Wilds commerce operations. A native to the Monongahela Valley region south of Pittsburgh, Ashley earned a B.S. in Commercial Music Technology from California University of Pennsylvania. She has worked as a freelance audio/lighting/theater technician, multi-instrumentalist, designer and artist. Seeking a new adventure, she relocated to the PA Wilds in 2020 and enjoys helping to make a positive impact as a member of the PA Wilds team.

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Finance & Administrative Team

Julie Iaquinto

Finance & Grants Director

Finance & Grants Director Julie Iaquinto has been with the PA Wilds Center since its founding. Julie founded the Center's Finance Department, becoming the nonprofit's first-ever Chief Financial Officer, overseeing the nonprofit’s finances, grants management and human resources. She recently transitioned to the Finance & Grants Director, overseeing the development of the finance and grants teams. Julie has lived her entire life in the PA Wilds. Prior to joining the PA Wilds Center, she operated an accounting business for many years serving clients from diverse fields across the public and private sectors. Julie has more than a decade of experience working with nonprofit organizations, including PA Travel and Tourism, PA Route 6 Alliance, Potter County Education Council, Education Council of the Upper Allegany, and Potter County Visitors Association. She has also helped set up and establish both for-profit and nonprofit startups.

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Carol Szymanik

Data Backup & Training Support

Carol Szymanik has been with the PA Wilds Center since its founding. She assists the Finance & Grants Director and finance team on a part-time basis, focusing on securely backing up financial documents and training new staff members on the growing finance team. Previously the Executive Financial Assistant, Carol has extensive experience with accounts payable and receivable, invoicing and data entry. For more than 31 years, she and her husband have owned and operated the Susquehannock Lodge on Scenic Route 6 in Potter County in the PA Wilds.

Kati Beimel

Grant Contracts Administrator

Kati began working with PA Wilds Center in early 2024 as the inaugural Grant Contracts Administrator within the Finance Department. In her role, Kati oversees the day-to-day fiscal administration of local, state, federal and philanthropic grant awards made to the PA Wilds Center under the direction of the Chief Financial Officer. She also works closely with other members of the Finance team, as well as the staff managing programs who are charged with implementing the grant work plans. Based in Elk County, Kati comes to PA Wilds Center with more than a decade of experience working on contract administration within the healthcare industry. She is excited to be a part of the PA Wilds Center team and to continue growing in her field within the nonprofit sector.

Lyndsey King

Grants Manager

Lyndsey is an experienced economic development professional with a strong commitment to conservation and the sustainable growth of rural Pennsylvania. A native of Tioga County, she joined the PA Wilds Center team in 2024 as the manager of the PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Leonard Harrison State Park. Her exceptional work led to a promotion to Grants Manager, where she now plays a key role in securing diversified funding to support vital conservation, infrastructure, and economic development initiatives.

With nearly a decade of grant writing experience, Lyndsey is dedicated to creating meaningful, long-term impact in rural communities. She excels at developing innovative, community-driven solutions that foster sustainable growth while safeguarding the region’s unique natural and cultural resources in an environmentally and economically resilient way.

Kimberly Hazlett

Bookkeeper

Kimberly began working for PA Wilds Center part-time in 2024 as a financial assistant to the finance and grants teams. In 2025, she became a full-time staff member with day-to-day responsibilities including management of accounts payable, accounts receivable and data entry. A lifelong resident of Tioga County, Kim is based in Wellsboro. She holds an Associate of Science degree in Business Administration from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania (now Commonwealth University). Kim brings 13 years of office management experience to the PA Wilds Center team. In her free time she enjoys exploring the PA Wilds through running, hiking, kayaking, biking. She is excited to be on the PA Wilds Center team and play a part in the nonprofit's effort to make a positive impact on our rural communities.

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Contracted Support Services

A number of organizational and individual contractors from across the Pennsylvania Wilds provide services to assist our small staff.

Hello Social Co.
Social media support services

The Graphic Hive
Website support services

Potter County Education Council
Administrative support for the PA Wilds Dinner & Awards, the PA Wilds Center Board of Directors, and the PA Wilds Planning Team

ThriveHR Management
Human Resources support services

Your Part Time Controller (YPTC)
Accounting support services

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Learn More

PA Wilds Center org chart

Careers with the PA Wilds Center

PA Wilds Center Board

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