Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Greg Branen.  I was born in West Lafayette, Indiana, where my dad was
finishing his Ph.D. in food science at Purdue University.  After that time, I moved around a lot, going from Indiana to Wisconsin
to Washington to Nebraska to Idaho.  I now call my hometown Moscow, Idaho, where my family has resided since 1983.

After graduating from Moscow High School, I continued my studies and received a B.A. in Spanish and an M.A. in Teaching
English as a Second Language at The University of Idaho. I then decided that I wanted to get some "real world" experience.
Luckily, I immiediatley found a job  teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) at the Intensive American Language Center
(IALC) located on the campus of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington

I taught at the IALC for 3 years before transplanting myself to Champaign, Illinois in August 1998 so my wife, Jill,  could
pursue her Ph.D. program in Food Science at the University of Illinois.   Upon moving to the community of
Champaign-Urbana, I found a job teaching at the Intensive English Institute at Parkland Community College.  However, due to
low student enrollments, my job was in jeopardy.  Therefore, I  decided it was time to return to school..  In June 1999, I began
a Master's program in Community Mental Health at the University of IllinoisSchool of Social Work.

Social work has long been a dream of mine.  I have always enjoyed helping other people.  Furthermore, I have had a lifetime
committment to social justice. With my love for social justice came the perfect opportunity to work with the Program on
Intergroup Relations.