Collin Sharp
Regional Sales Manager, Central
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Thinking outside the box
Mike Conklin, Executive Director of Safety & Security at Northwest Independent School District, and Collin Sharp, Regional Sales Manager for Traka’s Central Region, discuss how the district turned a pair of underutilized key cabinets into a safety standard now built into every new project.
2026-08-01
1 min read
The Northwest Independent School District (NISD) in Texas spans 234 square miles across three counties and 14 communities, a footprint bringing together dozens of police and fire departments, five separate 911 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) and now nearly 250 first responders carrying intelligent key fobs to access district buildings in an emergency. Mike Conklin and Collin Sharp discuss how NISD and Traka have worked together to make Traka cabinets a part of the district’s safety culture.
Could you introduce yourselves and your roles?
Mike Conklin: I’m a retired police officer. I did juvenile investigations and was a school resource officer for the district for a couple of years, and when the district expanded in 2008 I applied to join full-time. I’m starting my 19th year in the safety and security department, and over that time school safety has changed in every aspect – physical security, digital security, personal security. All of that has changed the way school safety is approached from every angle.
Collin Sharp: I’m the Regional Sales Manager for Traka, based in Dallas and covering Texas and the central region. I’ve been with Traka for almost 12 years and with ASSA ABLOY in the security industry since 2004.
How does the size and scale of NISD affect the complexity of the security operation?
Conklin: We’re 234 square miles, sitting in portions of three counties and 14 communities. You can imagine trying to coordinate all those police departments, fire departments and fire marshals – we’re in five different 911 PSAP locations. That sheer geographic size creates challenges, on top of the power and water companies we coordinate with. It’s a whole gamut of stuff.
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