John McAllister is a Founding and Managing Partner of McAllister & Quinn and manages an extensive portfolio of higher education clients for the firm. During his career, John has helped over 100 colleges and universities secure hundreds of millions of dollars in Federal and foundation funding.
Since 2004, John and his business partner, Andy Quinn, have taken a small firm with one employee and expanded it into one of the fastest-growing grants consulting firms in the United States. John has led the company from a startup to a thriving organization with over 100 employees and a 400-person grant writing network. The McAllister & Quinn grant writing network is the largest and most diverse network of grant writers and editors in the nation.
As the architect of McAllister & Quinn’s Higher Education Practice, John leads a talented team of grant experts and professionals that have designed a unique, integrated set of services that has proven highly successful for colleges and universities. John and his team’s extensive knowledge of the federal grants process has enabled the firm to develop and execute effective, winning strategies for colleges and universities from Maine to California.
John is a strong believer in the role higher education must play to promote social justice for students. He has spoken at higher education conferences such as the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), and the American Association of State Colleges & Universities (AASCU) on the topic of cultivating a federal grant seeking mindset and increasing grant funding on campus.
Prior to founding McAllister & Quinn, John worked in private practice at a leading Washington, DC, firm and as a senior aide to a United States Congressman.
John serves on the Board of Directors of both the Washington Jesuit Academy and the Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School. Washington Jesuit Academy and Don Bosco Cristo Rey are both Washington DC area schools that serve students of promise from underserved communities.
John grew up in Olean, New York, and graduated from Albright College with a B.A. in political science. He and his wife Ann live in Washington, DC, with their sons John and Liam. He is an avid Washington Nationals fan.
Affiliations
- Board of Directors, Washington Jesuit Academy
- Board of Directors, Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School