Connor Grennan, a Biography
Conor Grennan was born on October 24, 1974. He grew up in an Irish-American household in Poughkeepsie, New York. He later attended the University of Virginia and graduated in 1996 with a major in political science. Grennan then moved to Prague, where he spent eight years working at the EastWest Institute— a non-profit think tank dedicated to international public policy— as the Deputy Director of the Program on Security on Governance. He eventually tired of his work and, looking for a change, decided to go on a year-long trip around the world.
Early Life
Before embarking on his trip, Grennan first decided to volunteer at the Little Princes Children’s home in Nepal, where he first arrived in 2004. He thoroughly enjoyed his time there and returned a year later. Grennan then discovered that many of the children at Little Princes were not truly orphans, but victims of child trafficking. Through the Little Princes, Grennan came across seven such children that he and his associates worked to find homes for. Unfortunately, Grennan had to return to the United States, and the children were abducted by a child trafficker before they could be placed in safe homes. From the United States, Grennan worked to create a non-profit organization— which he called Next Generation Nepal— so that he could raise enough money to return to Nepal and try and find the children. If possible, he also hoped to reunite both the seven children and the children of Little Princes with their families.
Adventures in Nepal
After successfully launching Next Generation Nepal, Grennan returned to Nepal, found the seven children, opened a Next Generation Nepal children’s home in Kathmandu, and organized many trips into the Humla District to try and find the families of the children. Grennan worked in Kathmandu as the executive director of Next Generation Nepal until he returned to the United States in late 2007, where he married, started a family, worked on a book about his experiences helping trafficked children, and continued to aid in the growth of Next Generation Nepal. Grennan later attended the New York University School of Business, which he graduated from in 2010. Grennan currently serves on the board of Next Generation Nepal together with his wife, Liz. He lives in Connecticut with Liz and his two children, Finn and Lucy.
Later Years
Click on this video to view a TedTalk about Conor Grennan and a discussion on volunteering!
To the left is a photo of Conor Grennan. To the right is a photo of Conor Grennan and some of the children he worked with at Little Princes.
Works Cited
“Alumni Profile: Conor Grennan (STERN '10).” New York University, www.alumni.nyu.edu/s/1068/alumni/interior_3col.aspx?sid=1068&gid=1&pgid=7983.
“About Me.” Conor Grennan, 19 Jan. 2018, conorgrennan.com/about/.
BookBrowse. “Conor Grennan Author Biography.” BookBrowse.com, www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm/author_number/1980/conor-grennan