Winner of Eastern’s 2019 Social Justice Award

Ronald F. Ferguson
 

Ron Ferguson, PhD, is the Director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University and prominent leader of The Basics, where he is expanding its’ practice to a network of 30+ other cities across the US and internationally.

The Basics began in Boston, and The Boston Basics Campaign remains a vibrant and growing citywide coalition of organizations and individuals which aims to give children from every background a better start in life. The Basics staff enlist and equip organizations that parents already know and trust, to build the principles into the work those organizations do with parents. The founding partners are the Black Philanthropy Fund, the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University, the Department of Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center, the Boston Mayor’s Education Cabinet, WGBH Public Broadcasting, and Boston Children’s Museum. Eastern Bank is an Institutional Founder and Wendell Knox, former Lead Director at Eastern Bank, has made significant contributions since its founding.

The Basics are inspired by the fact that 80% of brain growth happens in the first three years of life. During this period, skill gaps between socio-economic, racial, and ethnic groups become clearly apparent. Everyday interactions between children, their parents, and other caregivers provide abundant opportunities to give children from every background a more equal start in life.

For more information, click here to visit The Basics.

Past Recipients of Social Justice Award