Gillian Burns was named Assistant Commissioner of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) on July 10, 2023.

Her position has been made possible through the NCAA Division III Ethnic Minority & Women's Internship Grant and will focus on Sport Administration and Championships.

From 2022 to 2023, Burns spent time working at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a Postgraduate Intern in Division III Governance. During her internship, she had the opportunity to support the Division III Presidents Council, Management Council, and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Additionally she assisted with the operations and workbook creation for Division III student-athlete and administrator programming such as, New Athletic Director Orientation, the SWA program, New Commissioner Orientation, Student Immersion Program, Emerging Leaders Seminar, and Student-Athlete Leadership Forum.

Prior to her time at the NCAA, Burns worked as a graduate teaching assistant in Kinesiology, where she taught over 100 students to play specific sports, mental and physical health best practices and how to have a holistic college experience. During this time she also held positions as a social media manager for the University of Georgia Recreational Sports department, a subject tutor for student-athletes and as a gameday marketing assistant for Learfield.

Burns has also held operational positions for the American Junior Golf Association, Clarksville Parks and Recreation and University of Louisville Athletics.

In May 2022, Burns graduated with her masters degree from the University of Georgia in Sport Management and Policy. Prior to that, she earned the Outstanding Undergraduate award in Sport Administration and graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors from the University of Louisville in 2020. Burns is a former rowing student-athlete at Louisville where she was named a 4-time CRCA Scholar Athlete, 4-time ACC Honor Roll recipient and 4-time Red and Black Scholar.

The Atlanta native currently resides in Florida with her family and two dogs.