BRTC Hires New Instructors

Rick Barker

POCAHONTAS, AR Sept. 2– Black River Technical College is pleased to announce that it has hired four new instructors for the 2021-2022 academic year.

Rick Barker of Jonesboro accepted the position of Machine Tool Technology Instructor on the Pocahontas campus.

Barker earned a Bachelor of Science in Technology Management in 2014 and a Master of Science in Vocational Career and Technical Administration in 2017 at Arkansas State University. He is currently working to complete a PhD in Philosophy of Innovation and Technology Management with an emphasis in Engineering Management.

Charles Coe accepted the position of Gunsmithing Instructor on the Pocahontas campus.

Coe is a 1979 graduate of the Colorado School of Trades. After graduating from trade school, he worked as a tool and die grinder at an aluminum tube manufacturing facility. After the factory closed, Coe opened a retail gun store and a gunsmithing service shop in 1986. Coe’s business, located in Newport, is still in operation today.

Erin Faulkner accepted the position of Phlebotomy Instructor on the Paragould campus.

Faulkner is a licensed Patient Care Technician, Certified Nursing Assistant, and Phlebotomist. She earned her credentials from Arkansas State University—Newport.

Amanda Plumley of Pocahontas has accepted the position of Nursing Instructor.

Plumley earned her RN certification through the ARNEC program at BRTC and then completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Chamberlain University. She has been serving Northeast Arkansas since 2018.