John Gamba is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and funded several education ventures over his 25-year career. 

John currently serves as Entrepreneur in Residence and Director of Innovative Programs at Catalyst @ Penn GSE where he mentors aspiring education entrepreneurs and supports the Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition, now in its 14th year. 

The Milken competition has awarded close to $2 million dollars to over 50 education entrepreneurs and those ventures have gone on to raise $150 million in follow-on capital.

Hi, I’m Josh Chernikoff. 

My role in the education industry began with the founding, running, and eventually selling off a school-aged tutoring company. I then moved into the enrichment space, building my second business for kids and gaining inside experience with principals and PTAs along the way. I sold said company in 2021 and began to support other education entrepreneurs on their paths to success through thought leadership, business coaching, and lead generation — a dream that’s turned into my favorite venture so far.

I’m a firm believer that improvement doesn’t stem from monotony. If we’re going to create learning opportunities that move students forward, we need to break the grade. And I’m honored to lift the voices of my fellow education entrepreneurs up as they work to do the same.