Rob Watson, Jr.

Rob Watson is the inaugural executive director of EdRedesign and lecturer on education at Harvard Graduate School of Education. At EdRedesign, Watson leads an interdisciplinary team of staff, fellows, consultants, research affiliates and students supporting communities across the U.S. to develop cradle-to-career systems of opportunity. He presides over many of the organization’s signature talent development offerings including: the EdRedesign Fellowship for Cradle-to-Career Partnership Leaders, Summer Institute for Neighborhood Leaders, By All Means Senior Fellows Program and the By All Means Communities of Practice initiative.

His work has focused on themes of civic engagement, community development and educational equity in the U.S., Latin America, and Africa. Prior to joining EdRedesign, Watson served as a consultant and advisor to organizations that include the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, Harvard College, Tufts University, The Social Impact Studio, FUSE Corps, The Foundation for Louisiana, The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, The Obama Foundation and the William Julius Wilson Institute at Harlem Children’s Zone.

A former Peace Corps volunteer and winner of the Peace Corps’ 2023 Franklin H. Williams Award, Watson has co-founded five civil society organizations in Paraguay, including, Teach for Paraguay, member of the global Teach For All Network and the Paraguayan Government's first national youth service program. Additionally, he partnered with the mayor, superintendent of schools and community stakeholders from his hometown of Poughkeepsie, New York to launch the Poughkeepsie Children's Cabinet, a collective impact organization that convenes leaders across sectors to develop a citywide cradle-to-career agenda for children, youth, and families. Watson is also a co-founder of the Poughkeepsie Service Accelerator (PSA) a place-based service year collaborative that aims to attract and retain local talent to pursue social impact careers in the Mid-Hudson Valley region of New York State.

In January 2024, he was selected as a Presidential Leadership Scholar. Watson is a member of the Board of Directors at the Children's Funding Project, former World Economic Forum Global Shaper and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Millennium Scholar. He holds a B.A. from Harvard College, an Ed.M. in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Mid-career Master's in Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard Kennedy School.