Eric Aft, CEO, Second Harvest Food Bank

Feeding Guilford County

Facing the Challenge of Hunger through Innovation, Collaboration, and Job Creation

Eric began serving as Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina’s CEO last July.  He counts himself fortunate to lead an organization doing such critical work in addressing hunger and food insecurity across our region.

Prior to joining Second Harvest, Eric was a member of the Wake Forest University Advancement team as the Director of Development for the Mid-Atlantic region.  He also served as United Way of Forsyth County’s COO for 12.  Before moving to Winston-Salem, Eric served as the President of the United Way of Central Virginia and Executive Director of the United Way of Wayne and Holmes Counties in Ohio.

Eric is also a Professor of Practice at Salem College in the Non-Profit Management program.  He teaches courses in leadership and management, strategic thinking and planning, and fundraising.

He is a graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis and holds a Master’s degree in Health Administration from the University of South Carolina.  Eric has been a member of multiple Rotary Clubs in Ohio, Virginia, and now in North Carolina as a member of the Reynolda Rotary Club.

Along with his wife Lisa, Eric lives in Pfafftown.  Lisa, a former Rotarian, is a pre-school teacher in Winston-Salem. Their son, Avery, is a teacher and the director of bands at Middlebrook High School in Raleigh and their daughter, Claire, is a rising sophomore at Elon University where she is majoring in Human Services and minoring in Leadership Studies.