Providing the leadership and vision that drives the organization’s mission forward, Brian Gaines has served as Learning Undefeated’s Chief Executive Officer since 2012. Brian joined Learning Undefeated after serving as Executive Director of the Washington Commanders Charitable Foundation. He has spent most of his professional career creating and working for several entrepreneurial endeavors at the intersection of the for-profit and nonprofit worlds.
In previous roles, Brian has held leadership positions with two of America’s most effective social change organizations, including Peer Forward (formerly College Summit) and KaBOOM! Brian also was the Founding Executive Director of the Joshua Venture, a national venture philanthropy fund working to launch and support innovative nonprofits. In his business career, he was the CEO and Managing Partner of a chain of Ben & Jerry’s retail outlets in the San Francisco Bay Area and served as the Western Regional Business Manager for Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc. He has also helped to found several other nonprofit organizations and served as the President of the San Francisco Human Services Commission.