Zack Wyatt – President/CEO

Zack Wyatt grew up in northern Virginia. His family were caretakers of a 300-acre, old dairy farm. His family had a large garden, pigs, horses, chickens, and he also worked on neighboring farms. After graduating from Coastal Carolina University in 2003 with a degree in Business Administration, he worked in home mortgage lending and IT. Zack’s passion for bringing community together over food, his understanding of the importance of equitable food access, and his drive to improve local food systems led him to found Carolina Farm Trust in 2015. As the Executive Director of Carolina Farm Trust, Zack has produced two documentaries (The Farmer that Feeds Us series), and an annual music festival fundraiser called Carolina Jubilee. Zack lives in Cornelius with his wife and five children.

Chris Peake – General Manager, Local Foods Distribution & Production Center

Chris Peake grew up on the west side of Charlotte where, as a 9-year-old boy, he cleaned the very same parking lot in which the distribution center is located. He later attended Harding High and earned a scholarship to Johnson C. Smith University where he marched in the band and then moved on to study Business Administration from UNCC where he met his now-wife. After experiencing a near-death experience he decided that the purpose of his life is to give back to the greater good. Chris’s passion for giving back to his community, his work with at-risk kids, and his leadership experience in the car sales business bring his partnership with Carolina Farm Trust as the General Manager of the distribution center full-circle. Chris is a father to four children and lives in Denver, NC with his wife of 24 years, Kim, and their 12-year-old daughter.

Nikki Hill Johnson – Director of Marketing

Nikki grew up in the suburbs of northern Virginia where she spent most of her time outside collecting bugs and frogs while playing soccer and rollerblading. She took her “social butterfly” skills to college where she majored in sociology and upon graduating worked in the Marketing Department of AOL for Broadband (remember that?!). It was there she experienced real boots-on-the-ground marketing from booths at the US Open to marketing at live concerts (and meeting Kenny Chesney!). After the birth of her first child, Nikki took her marketing knowledge to social media and grew her own personal brand along with managing many clients. After 11+ years of entrepreneurship while simultaneously raising babies Nikki decided to jump into the nonprofit world and join forces with Carolina Farm Trust to help grow their mission. She currently lives in Charleston, SC with her husband and four children.

Emily Solomonson Sandoval – Program Coordinator

Emily Solomonson Sandoval grew up in Huntersville, North Carolina. She grew up spending time on her grandparents’ farm in Mount Airy and on her parents’ small farm in Huntersville. After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2019 with a degree in Environmental Studies, she worked as a high school Environmental Science teacher and on her family farm creating experiences for people to connect back with nature. During her time at Chapel Hill, she completed research on farms and with farmers in Ecuador where she also met her husband. She has a passion for how we interact with our environment and finding ways to improve how we relate to the world around us. She loves spending time with her animals, reading, and traveling.