Gary Gulla on Collaboration Among Communities

HERMITAGE, PA — When Gary Gulla joined the city administration in Hermitage, Pa., in 1996, collaboration among communities and public officials across state lines was rare.

“When we, the Mahoning and Shenango valleys, hit the wall with the steel recession … everybody was into survival mode,” says Gulla, today Hermitage assistant city manager. “And they were very isolated on their own island.”

That started to change about 2007.