about andy

Andy Arnold

Founder @ AEI

The American Excellence Initiative was founded and is operated by Andy Arnold. Andy wears many hats at AEI to include Executive Director and Success Training Officer. Andy also works in cooperation and partnership with a select group of organizations and companies he has chosen to align himself with based on shared morals, ethics, and missions. Andy is a RedBag Account Executive, a member of the Circle of Trust Training cadre, a Mission22 Ambassador, a John Maxwell Team certified coach, a 1st Phorm Legionnaire, a certified Tiny Habits coach, member of the National Speaker’s Association Las Vegas Chapter, and a proud member of the Vegas Chamber.

Andy Arnold has spent his entire life providing service and solving problems. A collator of information, conduit of protocols, and connector of people, organizations, and services, Andy's unique blend of practical life experience and evidence-based best practices provides custom, personalized insight into helping people achieve their aspirations.

Andy was born and raised in the small agricultural community of Monmouth, IL, where he developed a strong desire to serve from an early age. Andy comes from a family with military roots to include his mother being a Gold Star Family member from the Vietnam War. Andy was always called to military service, but after being asked by his mother not to enlist he redirected his service-oriented mindset toward education.

Andy attended Millikin University in Decatur, IL for three semesters before transferring to Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin. There, he thrived as a student-athlete, serving as co-captain of the 1997 Beloit College Buccaneers Football team. He graduated in 1998 with a degree in History and Education.

Andy began his career as a professional educator, serving the School District of Beloit, WI from 1999 to 2003. His desire to serve never left him and in lieu of military service, he was sworn in by the City of Beloit Police Department in August 2003.

Throughout his distinguished law enforcement career, Andy served in numerous capacities including Patrol Operations, Tactical Operations, Investigations (Drug and Gang Unit/FBI Safe Street Task Force), and Supervision. His tactical and supervisory experience ultimately opened the door to international service.

Andy's knowledge, skills, and abilities qualified him for a Department of State World Wide Protective Services (WPS) assignment as a High-Threat Diplomatic Security contractor at United States Embassy-Kabul, Afghanistan. This experience further broadened his perspective on leadership, crisis management, and serving in high-stakes environments.

Upon returning from Afghanistan, Andy again served the Beloit area as a Beloit Township Police Officer before continuing his law enforcement career with the Department of the Army Fort McCoy Directorate of Emergency Services until October 2022.

In May 2022, Andy began as an adjunct instructor for a non-profit school safety organization called The "I Love U Guys" Foundation. From October 2022 until August 2024, he served as a full-time Instructor for the Foundation, delivering over 250 in-person and livestream engagements across 36 states. This role established him as a nationally recognized public speaker in school safety.

In 2023, Andy founded The American Excellence Initiative (AEI) with the purpose of providing service and solutions for individuals, groups, and organizations seeking transformational change. In September 2024, he transitioned to operating AEI full-time from the Las Vegas Valley in Nevada.

Initially focusing on leadership, life coaching, and personal development, Andy’s approach as a "Success Training Officer" helped multiple clients who felt "stuck" to move toward their goals. He utilized systems, behavior design, and habit formation to drive change in people.

It took little time for Andy to narrow his focus to a more precision application; serving front-line personnel and developing leadership skills in the K-12 educational arena. Having lived the second and third order effects of a life as a 1st responder, Andy is devoted to helping police, fire, dispatch, emergency medical, and military personnel foster resilience to overcome physical and mental health challenges. Andy teaches non-clinical self and co-regulation techniques and demystifies how prolonged or intense exposure to stress effects our psychological and physical health.

Andy is also intensely passionate about school safety, particularly the importance of leadership during crisis management within schools. Having become emotionally attached to hundreds of organizations and their thousands of staff members he’s worked with, Andy is driven to pass on simple tools and action items to K-12 education administrators, educators, and staff members to successfully mitigate crisis situations in schools.

Laser focus on these two core topics has allowed Andy to call upon and leverage his wealth of first-hand knowledge to deliver personal development, leadership, wellness, and resiliency skills that are immediately beneficial.

Andy has been and continues to be a lifelong student and practitioner of leadership, effective communication, and optimal performance. Andy's decorated career has resulted in multiple awards, unit citations, and commendations, including:

Police Academy Class President
Beloit Police 2009 Officer of the Year
Multiple Unit Citations (Patrol, Tactical Unit, and Drug and Gang Unit)
Individual Citations and Commendations for both Performance and Excellence in Training
Northwestern University School for Police Staff and Command Class #375 Vice President
Northwestern University School for Police Staff and Command Class #375 Kremle Leadership Award recipient
United States Army Military Police School (USAMPS) Class 003-21 Leadership Award
Department of the Army Civilian Service Commendation Medal for actions in support of "Operation: Allies Welcome"

Service remains the cornerstone of Andy's life. He continues to donate time, money, and resources to many causes, most recently in the field of veteran suicide prevention as an Ambassador for the non-profit organization "Mission 22."

Andy's adventurous, multi-faceted life gives his speaking engagements, coaching perspectives, and training deliveries a distinct flavor that cannot be replicated. Having experienced both successes and failures, he brings authentic, battle-tested insights to every relationship, helping people and groups achieve transformational change and excellence in all aspects of life.

Andy’s approach to this phase of his tumultuous life can be summed up by the an old greeting used in Roman times, often prominently displayed at the top of a correspondence: Si Vales Valeo….”If you are well, I am well”

Andy aspires to return to school and become a certified therapist and counselor so he can spend the rest of his days helping all of those who unwittingly gave up so much of themselves in service of others.