Gary Nihsen
Program Development Specialist
NAFSA Regions IV and V
ND, SD, MN, IA, MO, WI, IL, MI

Gary started his career working as a state certified counselor in Nebraska with drug-addicted adolescents and their families at Nebraska Methodist Hospital.  He majored in English and International Studies at University of Nebraska- Omaha, where he began his own study abroad experience.  He studied German at the Goethe Institute and Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany and resided in Munich for 7 years. He received his MFA from Norwich University, VT. 

For the past 20+ years, Gary has worked in international travel and education, including three major airlines and several educational travel companies in management, operations and development. He has escorted groups from 20 - 100 participants through 9 different countries and organized events in excess of 1,000 participants. Fluent in German, he maintains separate residencies in Iowa and Berlin, Germany.