WS Chronicle

Eric A. Aft has been appointed as the next chief executive officer of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC, the region’s lead agency and advocate addressing hunger and its causes.

Aft assumes the reins after the long-planned retirement of Clyde W. Fitzgerald Jr., who passionately served the organization in numerous roles throughout its entire 36-year history, including the last 10 years at the helm.

“I am humbled and honored to follow the legacy of exceptional leadership provided by Clyde Fitzgerald and Second Harvest’s founding Executive Director Nan Holbrook Griswold,” said Aft.

“I look forward to continuing to work with our talented staff team, our committed board, our strong network of partner agencies, and our compassionate and engaged community of supporters, as we build on the accomplishments of the organization into the future.”

Aft joined Second Harvest in September 2017, as chief operating officer, bringing with him more than 27 years in nonprofit management and a proven track record of strategic, results-oriented leadership and success in building collaborative approaches to addressing pressing community issues.

“My successor as CEO, Eric Aft, is the right person to lead our organization into its exciting and challenging future,” said Clyde Fitzgerald. “After a comprehensive national search, our board and executive team chose a very talented, knowledgeable and experienced local leader to join our organization.”

Aft’s appointment began on July 1.

Aft said he is excited and focused as he takes the reins to lead the agency forward.

“Making sure that people can access healthy food when they need it is central to our work and vital to the well-being of our communities,” said Aft. “It is also true that families want and deserve more. We will continue to build awareness and engage more people around the issues of hunger and poverty. Our goal is to strengthen and expand our programs and initiatives that support transformational change, including Providence, our nationally recognized culinary job training program. We will seek new ways to use technology and data to enhance the way we do business and focus our energies to make the biggest difference possible.  At the heart of our approach is working collaboratively with the many communities we are honored to serve, because everyone has something to bring to the table. I will be out in the communities regularly, and look forward to connecting with our old friends and new ones.”

Aft holds a Masters of Health Administration from the University of South Carolina.

Prior to joining Second Harvest Food Bank, Aft served as director of development, Mid-Atlantic Region, for Wake Forest University. He is well known to many through his service as chief operating officer of the United Way of Forsyth County for nearly 12 years, from 2004-2016,

He’s long been involved with a number of community activities in Winston-Salem.