Gladys Nieves Vázquez was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The third of four sons of the founders of former EDP College. She studied at Syracuse University and the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, where she was awarded a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. She acquired a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras while she worked for Johnson & Johnson, where she began to apply her knowledge of total quality management.

In 1997, after her father's death, she took over the management of EDP College, becoming the youngest President at the national level of post-secondary institutions. In 2009, she announced, along with her mother, Gladys Vázquez, the conversion of the nature of the Institution from “for profit” to a “nonprofit” institution. As another one of her achievements as President, she managed to accredit the institution by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and change, in 2013, from college status to university.

Gladys Nieves Vázquez represented, for 8 years, the Institute of Industrial Engineers in the Disciplinary Court of the Association of Engineers. She is the second Vice President of the Association of Colleges and Private Universities (ACUP), Secretary of Hispanic Educational Technology Services (HETS), and member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Private Education and Asociación Productos Hechos en Puerto Rico.