Originally from Fort Lauderdale, FL, Kimberly Branch earned degrees in Music Education and Jazz Studies at Northern Illinois University. She studied under the direction of Prof. Ron Carter, Prof. Art Davis, Fareed Haque, Dr. Ronnie Wooten, Prof. Reginald Thomas, Dr. Roosevelt Griffin, and many more. Ms. Branch has also toured with the Northern Illinois Jazz Ensemble with many world-renowned guest artists such as Wycliffe Gordon, Sean Jones, and Randy Brecker to name a few. Ms. Branch has worked with numerous elementary, middle, and high schools around Illinois, Florida, and Wisconsin as well as numerous jazz camps such as the Dillard Center for the Arts Jazz Camp in Fort Lauderdale, FL and the Northern Illinois Jazz camp in DeKalb, IL. Ms. Branch currently directs 6th, 7th, and 8th grade concert band as well as the EMS Jazz Ensemble 1 & 2, EMS Jazz combo 1 & 2, and the Bottenfield Elementary 5th grade band.