John Gulla

John Gulla

Executive Director

Edward E. Ford Foundation

John Gulla became the executive director of the Edward E. Ford Foundation in 2013. EE Ford, in its 66 years of making grants, has distributed over $125,000,000 through more than 2,300 grants to more than 900 different independent schools and associations throughout the country. Before EE Ford, Gulla was head of school at The Blake School and prior to that held administrative and teaching positions at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx, Isidore Newman in New Orleans and St. Ann’s in Brooklyn. A graduate of Teachers College, Columbia University and Amherst College, he grew up the son of two public school teachers outside Boston. He helped found Fund for Teachers and has served on its board since its inception, having chaired it for many years. He has also serves, or has served, on a number of other boards including High Mountain Institute, ISACS, MAIS, Milkweed Editions, the Minnesota chapter of the ACLU.

Online Courses

Past Webinars

  • How to Save Your School Money with PurchasingPoint This item is protected

    December 6, 2024
    This webinar provides an overview of the PurchasingPoint program, tour of the PurchasingPoint portal and examples of vendor discounts and sign-up processes. Webinar recorded on November 7, 2024
  • Defining Roles and Responsibilities for a Successful Construction Project This item is protected

    November 14, 2024
    Construction project are more complex than ever. Learn the different management roles of a construction project from the owner and architect to the construction manager and other key facilitators.
  • Inflation in Independent and Higher Education: The Case for the HEPI This item is protected

    November 1, 2024
    Access to reliable inflation data and using the most appropriate inflation measure is critical to accurate budgeting and planning. That's why Commonfund produces the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI), an inflation index.
  • Trends in Tuition Discounting: Insights from NBOA Research This item is protected

    October 25, 2024
    Learn about the research findings from the Tuition Discounting Report for PK-12 Independent Schools: 2021-2023, NBOA's recently released multi-year data analysis.
  • Addressing Student-to-Student Issues This item is protected

    October 17, 2024
    Research shows sexual incidents between youth make up approximately half of sexual abuse incidents. Through research and collaboration with leading experts, this session explores how schools leverage research to update policies and procedures.

Net Assets Articles

  • The Business of You

    January 7, 2025
    NBOA’s new research report, “Demographics of the Independent School Business Office,” reveals trends across schools, positions and individual career backgrounds and satisfaction.
  • Retaining Hourly Staff in a Tight Labor Market This item is protected

    January 7, 2025
    When food service workers expressed financial needs, the school negotiated wage raises and developed a staff compensation system.
  • On the Road

    January 6, 2025
    This business officer has come to treasure his weekend duties, even navigating heavy traffic on airport runs.
  • Show Me the Money This item is protected

    January 2, 2025
    Whether or not there’s a state or local law on the books, many schools are finding pay transparency is better for everyone.
  • It’s Keeping Me Awake at Night: What International School Tech Directors Are Losing Sleep Over

    December 23, 2024
    Data privacy and security remain top concerns for tech directors, with the introduction of AI tools adding complexity to regulatory compliance.