John Gaines

John joins QuestBridge as Senior Partner, Strategic Programs, having led offices of admission at three institutions. From 2002-2021, John was Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, a QuestBridge college partner. During this time, he came to deeply admire the mission of QuestBridge through selecting incoming scholars and by routinely presenting at QuestBridge National College Admissions Conferences! Prior to Vanderbilt, he served as Assistant VP & Director of Admissions at Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi, and as Director of Admissions at Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky. He currently serves as a Board Member and Past Chair of the Coalition for College. A Kentucky native, John holds a B.A. from Transylvania University, and a M.Ed. from the University of South Carolina. He lives in the Nashville, Tennessee area with his wife, Lisa, and The Captain (their yellow lab). He’s lucky, in that his adult children and one grandchild live nearby, and constantly keep him on his toes!