Gretchen Bren’s life has been profoundly impacted by her Rotary journey. Through her experiences, she has seen how much power each of us has through Rotary to impact our world.
She joined The Rotary Club of Omaha (aka Omaha Downtown) in 2007 and served as Executive Director there for 10 years. In 2019, she joined Omaha Night Rotary Club and is a past club president (2020-2022). At the District level, she has been the End Polio Now chair and an Assistant Governor. Gretchen has been a past District Trainer and is a facilitator for the Rotary Leadership Institute and for RI Club Visioning. Outside the District, Gretchen is the secretary for the Rotary Wine Appreciation Fellowship.
Gretchen is a Paul Harris Fellow+8, a Level 1 Bequest Society member and Major Donor Level 2, and spearheaded the Polio Plus Society in District 5650. Her spouse—Gary Bren—is a former District Governor for District 5650 (2016-17) and is also a facilitator for Rotary Leadership Institute and Visioning, and took over as the End Polio Now chair for District 5650.
Gretchen received the Citation for Meritorious Service from the Rotary Foundation and the International Service Award for a Polio-Free World. In 2019, Gretchen was honored with the District 5650 Cadwallader Award – the District’s highest honor for someone who has made a monumental contribution in one or more areas of service with Rotary.
Outside of Rotary, Gretchen has worked in the computer industry doing training, programming, and web design. She is a Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Master Instructor and Microsoft Certified Professional. Since 2016, she has been at Turner Technology as the Director of Special Projects. Gretchen has been married to Gary since 1989, and is the proud mom of two cats, Artemis and Shadow. In her free time, she loves to read, drink fine wines, and travel, and recently started stand-up paddleboarding
