​​John Zola is a retired social studies teacher who recently joined the BDSC Board. John was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and moved to Boulder in 1979 where he married and raised a family. John has degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Colorado-Boulder. As a teacher, John had the opportunity to work with fellow teachers in Central Asia to help improve classroom practice and make education more democratic. John's interest in the Teahouse goes back to the early days when it was given as a gift by the people of Tajikistan. During the Teahouse construction, John joined the builders periodically for tea.