John Palfrey

John Palfrey is president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, one of the nation’s largest philanthropies, and a longtime champion of libraries, education, and civic life. He is the author or editor of a dozen books, including BiblioTech: Why Libraries Matter More Than Ever in the Age of Google, and served as founding president of the Digital Public Library of America. Before leading MacArthur, John was the 15th Head of School at Phillips Academy, Andover, and a professor at Harvard Law School, where he was executive director and later faculty director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. He has served as chair of the board of the Knight Foundation and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society. John holds degrees from Harvard College, the University of Cambridge, and Harvard Law School.