Meet Rich Trinkwalder

ACTE New & Related Services Division Vice President
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Region: II
Division: New & Related Services
Occupation: Law and Public Safety Teacher

Employment History
Law and Public Safety Teacher, Gwinnett County Public Schools, 2020–present; Adjunct Criminal Justice Instructor, Lanier Technical College, 2017–present; Criminal Investigator III and Title Fraud Subject-Matter Expert, Georgia Department of Revenue, 2013–2020; Compliance Investigator III, Georgia Department of Public Health, Office of Inspector General, 2011–2013; Criminal Investigator, Hall County Sheriff’s Office, 2004–2011; Police Officer and Criminal Investigator, City of Lilburn, 2000–2004; Police Officer, City of Atlanta. Previously served six years on active duty in the United States Navy as an Electronic Warfare Technician.

Education
Specialist in Education, Teacher Leadership, Georgia College & State University, in progress; Master of Arts in Teaching, Covenant College; Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice Administration, Columbia College; Associate of Science in Public Service, Gwinnett Technical College. Certified Fraud Examiner.

National ACTE Involvement
Vice President, ACTE New and Related Services Division; member, ACTE Board of Directors; Finance Committee leadership; former Law and Public Safety Section Lead; advocate for expanding emerging NRS sections into nationally represented ACTE divisions.

Regional ACTE Involvement
ACTE regional conference participant and representative; active supporter of regional professional learning, collaboration, membership development, and leadership opportunities.

Platform Statement
The New and Related Services Division should be the place where emerging ideas find a home, specialized CTE professionals find their community, and growing fields develop a national voice. My goal is to make NRS more visible, accessible, and valuable to educators who may not yet realize that ACTE has a place for them. I did not learn about ACTE until my third year of teaching, and too many new CTE teachers, particularly those entering education directly from industry, still experience that same disconnect. We must reach them earlier, demonstrate the practical value of membership, and invite them to participate rather than wait for them to discover us on their own.

Membership growth must also lead to meaningful representation. I want to help existing sections grow, identify emerging professional communities, and create clear pathways for sections to become full ACTE divisions with representation on the national Board of Directors. Law, Public Safety and Security is one area with the potential to achieve that goal, but the same opportunity should be available to every NRS community prepared to organize, grow, and lead.

My second priority is strengthening the connection between education and industry. Teachers should not have to rely solely on cold calls and personal contacts to secure business partners, guest speakers, work-based learning opportunities, equipment, or technical expertise. ACTE can provide members with a professional industry-engagement toolkit containing adaptable letters, partnership proposals, presentations, talking points, and examples of successful collaborations. This would allow an individual teacher to approach a potential partner with the credibility and strength of a national organization behind the classroom.

My career has taken me from the Navy and more than two decades in law enforcement and public-sector investigations into secondary and postsecondary education. That experience has shown me that CTE is strongest when educators, industry professionals, researchers, support staff, and policymakers work together. I want NRS to be the division that builds those connections, develops new leaders, welcomes professionals whose work does not fit neatly into traditional categories, and turns emerging ideas into lasting influence across ACTE.