Ronald F. Ferguson, Ph.D.

Ronald F. Ferguson, Ph.D. is an MIT-trained economist whose teaching, research, and social entrepreneurship span topics ranging from economic development to school reform to family engagement. His current priority is an initiative that he launched while Faculty Director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University to mobilize communities for infant, toddler, and preschool learning and brain development. It operates through The Basics Inc., a nonprofit that he founded and The Basics Learning Network, a community of practice with affiliated coalitions in dozens of communities in the US and abroad. Ron’s most recent book, coauthored with Tatsha Robertson and published in 2019, is The Formula: Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children. He retired from teaching at Harvard Kennedy School in 2024 after 41 years on the faculty. He is a father and grandfather and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, before earning an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a PhD from MIT, both in economics.