Don McMillan, M.A., M.F.A.

Don has also served on executive boards for The Association of Boarding Schools and the Enrollment Management Association (formerly SSATB); he is a past Vice President of the Independent Educational Consultants’ Association, the industry’s governing body and provider of professional development, training, and guidelines for ethical practices.

His independent school career began at Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire, then brought him to St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Massachusetts, and finally to the Bancroft School in Worcester, Massachusetts. As a teacher, Don taught freshmen through Advanced Placement French and English students. As an administrator, he served as College Counselor, Academic Dean, Curriculum Director, and English Department Chair, and trained faculties at several schools in learning differences as a facilitator for All Kinds of Minds.

Outside of the classroom, Don was head coach of Varsity teams in football, ice hockey and tennis. He ran several dorms with his wife, Dr. Sarah McMillan, who co-manages McMillan Education with him. Their own two sons attended boarding school and went on to study in college in Boston. Noah played Division I football and studied at Holy Cross and Tufts, and currently serves as McMillan Education’s Director of Marketing and Digital Content, while Cameron worked at Wolfeboro School, Holderness School and Suffield Academy and is a combat veteran of the Iraq War after having completed his ROTC program at Boston University and commissioning as an officer in the U.S. Army.

The roots of Don’s school career trace back to the age of 14, when he went to St. George’s School in Newport, RI as a boarding student. He went on to Colby College, graduating with degrees in French and English, and captaining the men’s tennis team. He later went on to earn a Master’s in French from Middlebury College and Université de Nanterre Paris X, writing his thesis in French on Albert Camus’ role in the Résistance. Having lived and studied abroad, Don speaks French fluently, and understands the complexities of presenting applications for international students and domestic students with goals of studying in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. or the E.U.

Don also earned a Master in Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Goddard College. His Goddard thesis was chosen as a finalist for the James Jones First Novel Contest, and his short stories won several other awards. Don also worked as a journalist in Maine right after college. This lifelong commitment to letters as both a writer and a teacher of writing informs his contributions to the hands-on guidance of McMillan Education students through the W.I.S.E. Method of Educational Planning ™ .

Don enjoys playing tennis and golf and following the Red Sox, Patriots and Bruins. His now adult sons gave Don a first-hand appreciation of the recruiting process for a collegiate student-athlete and the ROTC experience for a cadet who went on to commission as a field artillery officer in the US Army. Along with Sarah and their canine companions Crash and Socrates, Don splits his time between their homes and offices in Boston and southern Maine (SoMe), especially loving the chance to blend in as a local Mainer whenever he can pull it off. Don has also enjoys serving under-resourced students through his support of Beacon Academy students and alumni in their school and college searches.