Glen Beram

A past mixed martial arts (MMA) champion, Glen Beram has served as a high school mathematics teacher with the Westchester County Public School Districts in New York for more than 20 years. At Mt. Vernon High School, Glen Beram co-founded the Work 2 Workout program as a way of motivating at-risk students to excel in academics while encouraging a healthy lifestyle. Work 2 Workout participants access practical career counseling and receive local gym membership at a very low cost in exchange for meeting schoolwork, attendance, and behavioral milestones. In leading Work 2 Workout since 2008, Glen Beram has helped expand the program beyond Mount Vernon High School. It now encompasses numerous gyms and schools throughout Westchester County and has attracted attention from school systems nationwide. Successful in reorienting many students’ academic performance and career expectations, Work 2 Workout has notably received a multi-year Marianthi Foundation grant. Earning a Master’s degree in Business and Math from Manhattan College in the Bronx, Mr. Beram taught martial arts at Oyama Karate from 1987 to 1993. He instructed advanced black belt students in the full-contact kumite sparring technique, which forms one of the three essential components of karate. During this time, Glen Beram engaged in competitive MMA fighting, achieving the National MMA Championship in 1990. A year later, he earned a spot as a finalist with Pride Full Contact, at a time of rapid expansion in worldwide MMA competition. Retired from active competition since the early 1990s, he works out by wrestling and practicing Brazilian jujitsu in his free time. Glen Beram maintains professional affiliation with the Mount Vernon Federation of Teachers.