Welcome Eric Tincher as the NEW SkillsUSA Kansas State Director.

Eric is a lifelong Kansan having been born in Newton. He grew up around the Melvern area where he attend Marias des Cygnes Valley High School. He went to and graduated from Emporia State University earning both a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Communication and a Masterd Degree in Counseling with an emphasis on Higher Education. He lives North of Topeka with his wife Michelle, who also is in education, and their combined family includes 5 children, 3 grandsons, and his 3 furbabies.

Eric's professional career includes working at Garden City Community College, Ft. Hays State University and Southwestern College in Winfield. However, in 1998 he started a 10-year career at Flint Hills Technical College in Emporia. As the Director of Enrollment Management, he traveled the state and spoke at both state and national conferences about the value of career and technical education. In 2008, Eric took on a new challenge of becoming the Dean of Students at Neosho County Community College. He left NCCC and moved to the Topeka area where he stepped out of education to work for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Four years later he came back to education when he joined the Kansas Board of Regents as an Associate Director of Adult Education.

In addition to his educational journey, Eric served the Kansas Guard (20+ years with the KS Air National Guard). He retired after 28 years and 4 deployments in December 2021. 

"I am thrilled to be the new State Director of SkillsUSA Kansas. I believe firmly in giving students (of all ages) the opportunity to match hard work with talent. Working with the SkillsUSA Board of Directors and advisors across our great state, we are going to do our very best to empower students to gain life-long stills", Eric Tincher.