John Gamba, Jr.

John Gamba Jr. is an entrepreneur and education innovator focused on transforming student learning and teaching through technology and entrepreneurship. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Gamba has dedicated his career to advancing education.

Gamba has founded, funded, and led several education technology ventures and nonprofit organizations over his 30-year career. In 1999, he co-founded PACE, the Partnership for Academic and Community Excellence, which was the first school-to-home communications network, connecting thousands of schools to millions of homes nationally. PACE was later sold to NTI Group and then to Blackboard for $182 million. Following this exit, Gamba invested in ventures such as "Massive U," an active learning platform that powered solutions for educational publishers including Pearson, Blackboard, McGraw Hill, and Scholastic. He also served as president and co-founder of "MassiveU," an ed-tech platform serving 400,000 learners worldwide and supporting major education companies.

Gamba is Penn GSE's first Entrepreneur-in-Residence. As Director of Innovative Programs and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Catalyst at Penn GSE, he supports entrepreneurs from idea inception to venture launch, helping them apply academic research to practice. He oversees the Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition, which has awarded $2 million to 50 education entrepreneurs, whose ventures have raised $200 million in follow-on capital. Gamba also helps lead the Catalyst Innovation Summit, which brings together founders, investors, researchers, and educators to discuss the edtech market, research-backed solutions, and industry trends.

Beyond education technology, Gamba co-founded a start-up during the COVID-19 pandemic to produce protective face shields for medical workers. Project SHIELDS, supported by donations and volunteers, delivered more than 10,000 pieces of NIH-approved personal protective equipment to hospitals at no cost.

Gamba's commitment to equity in education is reflected in Catalyst at Penn GSE's partnership with Digital Promise and others to launch the K-12 AI Infrastructure Program, a multi-year, $26 million initiative dedicated to building responsible AI in education and making these resources widely available.

Gamba mentors education entrepreneurs, helps incubate new edtech ventures, and oversees the Milken Education Business Plan Competition, supporting education reform and entrepreneurship to help students become more college and career ready. He has served on the boards of Penn's School of Nursing and the African Caribbean American Center and Dunbar High School, the world's first Microsoft Certified School. Gamba is recognized for his work at the intersection of education, technology, and entrepreneurship, mentoring the next generation of edtech founders and championing responsible AI in K-12 classrooms.