John Piotti
President and Chief Executive Officer
John Piotti joined American Farmland Trust as president and CEO in July 2016, bringing more than 25 years of executive management and public policy experience to the organization.
Prior to joining American Farmland Trust, John served as president and CEO of Maine Farmland Trust for 10 years. Under his leadership, Maine Farmland Trust became an award-winning statewide nonprofit organization, helping over 500 Maine farms remain viable and permanently protecting over 50,000 acres of Maine's best farmland. Before becoming president and CEO, John helped found Maine Farmland Trust in 1999 and served on its board of directors. In 2013, Maine Magazine named John to its inaugural list of the 50 people who have done the most for Maine.
Until 2006, John managed all the farm programs for Coastal Enterprises, Inc., Maine's premiere community development organization. He has also served as chair of the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group and a director of the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture.
In 2005, John was one of only eight Americans awarded the prestigious Eisenhower Fellowship. He spent time in Sweden and Brussels exploring European agriculture and agricultural policy.
From 2002 to 2010, when he termed out, John served in Maine's state legislature, representing eight rural communities and serving as House Majority Leader, chair of the Committee on Taxation and chair of the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. As a legislator, he gained a reputation as a nonpartisan problem-solver, leading successful efforts to stabilize Maine's dairy industry and provide new state funding to protect working waterfront and preserve natural lands.
John holds three degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in engineering, public policy, and management. He and his wife Susan have two children, Anna and John.
John Piotti joined American Farmland Trust as president in July 2016, bringing to the organization more than 30 years of executive management and public policy experience and a passion for farming and the environment. Under John's leadership, AFT has engaged in the most comprehensive study of American land use ever conducted, helped secure billions of dollars in federal funding to protect farmland and promote climate-smart agriculture, and launched new initiatives that advance regenerative farming practices and support next-generation farmers.