Joel Bryant was born in Los Angeles, USA. Prior to joining BMU, Joel Bryant worked as an US State Department English Language Fellow in Bulgaria, where he taught English to senior officers of the Bulgarian armed forces. He has also taught in the Republic of Georgia, Poland, Taiwan, Turkey, and Vietnam. Prior to becoming an English teacher, he was a lawyer.

In addition to teaching, Joel has led teacher development workshops in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Slovakia, and designed and delivered a professional development workshop series on Legal English at the Sofia (Bulgaria) Bar Association. His professional interests include English for Specific and Academic Purposes and phonetics; his interests outside the classroom include history, archaeology, anthropology, cooking, and eating.

Joel holds a BA in classical languages from Brandeis University, a juris doctor (laws) from Purdue Global Law School, an LL.M. in tax law from the Golden Gate University School of Law, and a CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) through the University of Cambridge