Our Team
About Davon Goodwin, executive director
Davon Goodwin grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but has rooted himself in North Carolina for over a decade now, consistently evidencing his dual commitment to agriculture and community. Davon holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, where he studied biology with a concentration in botany. While in college, Davon enlisted in the Army Reserve; he served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he earned a Purple Heart after he was wounded by an improvised explosive device (IED).
Since 2012, Davon has been working with Growing Change, a nonprofit organization that is transforming former North Carolina prisons into therapeutic farms and community centers where youth and veterans serve in leadership roles. Through Growing Change, Davon has served as a teacher and mentor to youth who have themselves been impacted by the juvenile justice system. He has helped support Growing Change’s youth as they have become statewide leaders in CEFS’ Food Youth Initiative, a network of young people doing food justice work in their communities across North Carolina, as well as leaders nationally, sharing out this revolutionary model for community change.
As the manager of the Sandhills Ag Innovation Center, Davon is working to reinvigorate the local sustainable farm economy and support the next generation of farmers. He also owns and operates OTL Farms, a 42-acre sustainable farm located in Laurinburg, NC, where he grows muscadine grapes, blackberries, and vegetables.
Davon has received many awards and accomplishments. In 2017, he was named a Stone Barns Exchange Fellow. The program identifies food systems leaders that are striving to make a difference at the intersections of climate change, food, and agriculture. Davon was also a part of the 2018 Documentary “The War Within”, a video series from McClatchy Studios that chronicles the lives of retired veterans who lived through the conflict in Afghanistan and are helping their brothers and sisters in arms cope with the effects of PTSD. Davon Goodwin is a driver of change, and truly a Local Food Hero!
SAIC Governing Board
The Governing Board of the Sandhills AGInnovation Center (SAIC) will meet at least quarterly to monitor the progress of the food hub business and advise the SAIC Manager. The purpose of the Governing Board is to ensure that the SAIC is operating in the interest of Richmond County Board of County Commissioners, satisfying the objectives of the major funders and appropriately utilizing public funds.
David Clark - SAIC CHairman
Manager
God’s Garden
Our Chairman, David Clark, serves as manager of God’s Garden, a faith-based program that grows produce to support local food ministries. God’s Garden utilizes large-scale growing practices for vegetable production and donates the harvest to local food pantries and food banks. They also purchase from local farmers to add to the distribution.
Ed Hunt
KBR Sustainable Ag Rep
Thomas Entrepreneurship Hub at UNC-Pembroke
Ed Hunt serves as the Sustainability Coordinator at the Thomas Entrepreneurship Hub at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He also is an adjunct lecturer at Campbell University and Methodist University. He also completed Leadership NC in 2023, NC Rural Leadership in 2021, and the Indigenous Leadership Academy in 2024.
Mel Acosta
General Manager
GFL Environmental
Mel is an Army Veteran with over 30 years of experience in Operations and Logistics, Food Banking, and business management. His experience includes work with companies such as Amazon, Walmart Supply Chain, Food Lion, and Feeding America. He is passionate about helping those less fortunate and expanding the local farm-to-table model in support of local and BIPOC farmers
Robert Elliot
Executive Director
Veteran Farm of NC
Robert grew up on a multi-commodity, commercial farm in Franklin County, North Carolina. He joined the Marine Corp at 18 and was honorably discharged in 2002. Robert continued to work for the Marines as a contractor from 2002-2011 after which he returned to the farm. It was this return that he attributes to saving his life and leading to the formation of The Veteran’s Farm of North Carolina in 2015 when other veterans began asking him to teach them how to farm. Robert’s expertise as a farmer and compassion for serving others has led to the formation of new veteran operated farms across North Carolina and beyond as well as a network of over 1,000 farmer veterans. Most importantly because of his tireless efforts, lives are being saved through restoration of purpose and belongingness.
Mark Pearce
Director of Food & Nutrition
First Health of the Carolinas
Bio coming soon!
Alex Piasecki
Co-Founder & Local Farm Advocate
Seal the Season
Alex has a vision for a food system that creates balances people, food, and profit. As co-founder & leader of Seal the Seasons, he strives to use local supply chains to empower local communities to take better care of one another and to create futures for family farming. Alex is in charge of overall business strategy and operations at Seal the Seasons. Alex holds a degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated with highest distinction and honors in Business Administration and Global Studies.
Sonny Goyal
Senior Vice President
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Sonny Goyal is the head of CuraCor Group, the diversified business arm of not-for-profit umbrella company CuraCor Solutions that also includes Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. As Senior Vice President, Sonny is responsible for thoughtfully guiding and expanding the company’s non-insurance business as it seeks to achieve sustainable long-term growth for Blue Cross NC and the CuraCor Solutions family of companies. Sonny earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Tufts University and his MBA from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Paige Burns
SAIC Ex-Officio
Richmond County Extension (CED)
Since 2007, Paige has worked in Richmond County covering commercial and consumer horticulture, with a focus on local foods, food safety, and specialty crop production. She was part of the development team for the Sandhills AGInnovation Center over 10 years ago, and continues to support the facility in numerous ways, working closely with the Director and Board. Paige became County Extension Director in 2019.