Wayne Zink

Wayne Zink is CEO of Endangered Species Chocolate (ESC), producer of one of the nation’s top selling brand of chocolate in natural supermarkets.

With Wayne’s leadership and a talented production and administrative team, ESC has gone from producing five million chocolate bars a year to 13 million. Throughout 2006 and 2007, ESC chocolate bars were ranked number one (units sold) in the natural organic category in all regions of the USA.

Wayne has led ESC in broadening its definition of “endangered” to embrace the idea that all species, habitat and humanity are endangered on our planet, not simply animals on a list.

Wayne also serves as president of the Back Home Again Foundation, an Indiana family foundation co-founded in 1998 with Randy Deer. Back Home Again Foundation makes grants to non-profits working in hunger relief, conservation, homelessness, at-risk youth, the environment and the arts. 

An active community member and noted Indianapolis philanthropist, Wayne is on the board of directors of The Nature Conservancy; on the board of governors of the Indianapolis Museum of Art; a member of the GreenPrint Natural Resource Stewardship Committee in Indianapolis; the former chairman of the board of Dance Kaleidoscope; and a past president and board member of Jameson Camp. He also serves as an advisor to Second Helpings, Step Up, the Damien Center and the Chrysalis Academy, and is on the Herron School of Art Dean’s Advisory Council.

Wayne is also a partner of DZ Enterprises and a director of Interactions Incorporated.

Born in Phoenix, Ariz., Wayne received his B.S. in psychology from Grand Canyon University and his M.S. in psychology and counseling from Prescott College. While pursuing his masters, he founded Options for Living Successfully with HIV, a rural community-based service for those whose lives have been touched by HIV.

Wayne has been involved in the formation and success Hardaway Connections, a Phoenix public relations firm, which he and his business partner grew into one of Arizona’s largest; the television show Golf in Paradise, where he was executive producer and syndicated the show internationally, creating a domestic viewership of 32 million; Zink-Richmond, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based public relations firm that remains in operation; Kish International, a Scottsdale-based cosmetics firm; Elementals LLC, where he formulated and marketed ZIRH Skin Nutrition, a line of men’s skincare sold at high-end department stores, and was eventually sold to Shiseido Cosmetics. In 1999 Wayne created Full Circle Enterprise, a non profit organization designed to deliver marketing services for small non profit entities at little or no cost.

For more information on Wayne, please visit www.chocolatebar.com