Gail M. Ferguson, Ph.D. (gmfergus@umn.edu) is a Professor in the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA. Ferguson is a psychologist, researcher, and educator whose translational research focuses on the impacts of modern globalization on adolescents’ cultural identity, health, and critical thinking about society and the environment. She is the Principal Investigator of the JMGC-Indonesia Study, which was conducted in 2025-2026 with middle and high school students in Bali, including Green School. Born and raised on the island of Jamaica, Ferguson has conducted numerous research studies in Jamaican schools and wanted to expand this research to another island in a different world region during her academic sabbatical. This led her to Indonesia last year as a Visiting Professor of Psychology at Sebelas Maret University, where she formed school partnerships to conduct school-based research in International and National Plus schools in Bali. Ferguson is an Associate Editor of the journal “Child Development” and formerly sat on the Board of Directors of the Society for Research on Adolescence. Ferguson is the 2027 winner of the coveted “Distinguished Contributions to Understanding International, Cultural, and Contextual Diversity in Child Development Award” from the Society for Research in Child Development.