By way of Palmyra, NJ and Cheswold, DE, Morgan Ridgway is of Black and Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape descent from Philadelphia, PA. They are a writer and research with a interdisciplinary background in discourse analysis, archival research methods, and creative writing, based in Cambridge, MA.

They earned their M.A and Ph.D in History, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Native American and Indigenous Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. They earned their B.A in Psychology and Gender and Sexuality Studies at Swarthmore College.

Their work sits at the intersection of knowledge management, research synthesis, program evaluation, project coordination, and education. Morgan is particularly interested in organizations that use research and evidence to improve learning, strengthen communities, and inform policy.

As a writer, Morgan’s work includes data-driven research, funder-facing materials, poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. Much of their writing is interested in how to build capacity and momentum for success, and the impacts of systems change on individual, local, and national scales. As a creative writer, they are always writing about grief, love, care, and the future.

Regardless of genre, Morgan is concerned with the work of community development, how we build capacity, what supports we need as humans to create livable lives, and how to affect change through writing. Their work can be found or is forthcoming in Women’s Studies Quarterly, Diode Poetry Journal, The Blog of the Journal of the History of Ideas, and elsewhere. (see Writing).

In addition to their writing, Morgan’s voice and expertise has been featured in various news outlets and podcasts, such as NPR-affiliate WHYY, as well as public lecture series (see Media).