David Trichler

David Trichler is Associate Director of the Global Research Institute at William & Mary, where he works with internal and external partners to identify, accelerate, and sustain research with real-world impact. He is responsible for strategic planning, external engagement, and cross-cutting initiatives. He also teaches the course Decision Making in Foreign Policy, co-founded W&M's Global Scholars Program, and has previously directed W&M's study abroad program in Florence, Italy.

Earlier in his career, David served as Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Bank. He earned a master's degree from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, where he was a teaching assistant for former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University, where he graduated valedictorian. David is a former term member for the Council on Foreign Relations.

David's work centers on institution building and research translation: designing the programs, partnerships, and operating structures that move research from ideas to impact, and building infrastructure meant to scale and eventually sustain itself. Over the past decade he has founded and grown several of GRI's signature programs and helped catalyze a tenfold increase in the Institute's annual funding.

When he isn't reading policy briefs, David runs the trails around Williamsburg, leads whitewater rafting trips in the American West, and is father to three daughters who love dogs, ice cream, and their parents, in that order.