LAFAYETTE, La. – One Acadiana is kicking off its 2023 CivicCon Acadiana speaker series by hosting Dr. Ronald Ferguson of Harvard, who will give a talk on “Supporting Vibrant Early Learning.” Because 80 percent of brain growth happens by age three, the first three years of life are critical to ensuring the future health and success of our children. Dr. Ferguson will discuss the research on early brain development and offer tips and tools for parents to help build their baby’s brain.
Dr. Ferguson is an MIT-trained economist whose research focuses on economic, social, and educational challenges. He has been on the faculty at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government since 1983. As director of the Achievement Gap Initiative (AGI) at Harvard, Dr. Ferguson developed a program called The Basics, which aims to reach families with five principles of advice for parenting infants and toddlers.
Following Dr. Ferguson’s presentation, the event will conclude with an announcement of a new effort to support early brain development in Acadiana. This new effort was inspired by One Acadiana’s Leadership Exchange trip to Pensacola, where participants learned about an early brain development initiative led by the Studer Community Institute. The Pensacola initiative involves collaboration with local hospitals to provide new parents with resources to support their baby’s healthy brain development.
CivicCon Acadiana is a quarterly speaker series to promote civic engagement and raise the civic IQ of our community – engaging with experts to help educate the community and spark informed conversations. It is a free, open to the public event that is available to attend in-person or stream online.
WHEN & WHERE
Wednesday, January 11, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Acadiana Center for the Arts, 101 W. Vermilion St., Lafayette, LA 70501
About One Acadiana
One Acadiana is the leading economic development organization for the nine-parish Acadiana region located in south Louisiana. With more than 600 investors, members, and partners, One Acadiana serves as the voice of the regional business community. The organization is located in the city of Lafayette and serves a region of nearly 700,000 people with a vibrant culture and unique entrepreneurial spirit. Learn more at OneAcadiana.org.