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About Us
At First Team Impact, we help student-athletes and athletic departments turn values into action—building purpose-driven legacies that attract sponsors, inspire communities, and create lasting change. Our co-founders bring decades of experience across philanthropy, brand and sports sponsorships, and strategic communications, offering the credibility and guidance to turn good intentions into real impact.
Vicki Johnson
Communications Leader | Storyteller | Marathon Mindset
Vicki Johnson has spent her career helping brands and leaders tell the kinds of stories that inspire action—stories rooted in clarity, purpose, and connection. Whether guiding executive messaging, launching industry-first innovations, or helping organizations navigate change, she brings a coach’s mindset and an athlete’s discipline to every challenge.
Before she was shaping strategy in boardrooms, Vicki was competing on the court. A former high school basketball and softball player, she’s always believed in the power of sport to build character, leadership, and community. She’s completed more than 50 marathons—including the 2009 Boston Marathon, where she live-tweeted her experience before that was even a thing. She’s also coached youth basketball and, as the mom of two former college athletes, understands the highs, hurdles, and discipline it takes to balance academics, athletics, and everything in between.
Over two decades, Vicki has led communications for some of the world’s most admired brands, including Disney, Princess Cruises, and the United States of America, and she’s also collaborated with major sports groups—from the NFL and NASCAR to elite international clubs and athletic organizations — where the stakes are high and the stories run deep. Her background spans public affairs, crisis communications, brand storytelling, and community engagement—all grounded in an ability to connect authentically with diverse teams and audiences.
She believes every athlete has a story—and learning how to tell it is a skill that can shape your future far beyond the game. Now with First Team Impact, Vicki is helping college athletes uncover their unique narrative, build confidence in their voice, and translate their experience into a new kind of competitive edge: one that opens doors and builds legacy.
Carol Wick
Athlete | Advocate | Impact Architect
Carol Wick is living proof that the mindset you build as an athlete can change the world.
A lifelong competitor, Carol started running cross country and playing varsity basketball at just nine years old—and she hasn’t stopped since. She became a triathlete at 40, proving that dedication, discipline, and grit don’t end when school sports do. She credits her coaches and teammates with shaping her into the leader she is today, instilling values that she still lives by: resilience, teamwork, and showing up with purpose.
Those same values have powered Carol’s 35-year career as a global leader in philanthropy, entrepreneurship, and nonprofit innovation. She’s built a reputation for turning bold ideas into real-world impact—leading organizations, developing strategy, and building powerful partnerships that drive change in communities across the world.
Carol has raised over $250 million to support initiatives that tackle the toughest challenges we face: ending violence, rebuilding after disaster, empowering women and girls, eradicating poverty, and sparking sustainable economic growth. Her expertise spans the full spectrum of nonprofit management, from strategic planning to the implementation of solutions that create measurable, long-term results.
Her client and partner portfolio reflects the global reach and trust she’s earned, including organizations like YWCA USA, UN Women, the White House, and the National Entrepreneurial Center, along with leaders and grassroots movements in the United States, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and Europe.​
As Co-Founder of First Team Impact, Carol is passionate about helping athletes turn their passion and potential into leadership that lasts. She understands that the same mindset that fuels elite performance—resilience, teamwork, and purpose—can also create meaningful, lasting change in the world.
From big-picture strategy to sustainable, on-the-ground results, Carol knows what it takes to turn vision into action. Her deep understanding of leadership, planning, and execution is what drives First Team Impact’s mission: to help athletes build a playbook for life, leadership, and legacy.