Originally from Logansport, Indiana, Bryan was born and raised in a working, middle-class family. He was the first in his immediate family to attend college, successfully paying for school through various high school and college jobs and student loans.
Bryan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology in 1997 and in 1999 a Master of Arts degree in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education, both from Ball State University. Bryan has two younger sisters, one older step-brother and one younger step-sister. His mother and step-father live in Indiana and his father and step-mother live in Ohio.
Bryan moved to Oshkosh in August of 1999 to work at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. He worked four years in the Department of Residence Life and currently is an Assistant Director of Academic Advising in the Undergraduate Advising Resource Center. In this position, Bryan coordinates the undergraduate advising for students in the College of Education and Human Services and the technology and academic support programs for the advising center.
Bryan met and married his wife Amanda in Oshkosh. The youngest of three children, Amanda is a native of Markesan, WI, and earned a Bachelor of Social Work degree in 2002 from UW Oshkosh. She, too, was a first-generational college student, and successfully paid her way through college by working and student loans. Amanda is a University Services Associate for the Center for New Learning at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
Bryan and Amanda are members of First Congregational Church and Propel. They own a home on the south side of Oshkosh where they live with their son Elliot and two adopted cats, Zeus and Apollo. They also are a proud uncle and aunt to numerous nieces and nephews.