Ron Goldberg was born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 2, 1952. He moved to New Jersey at the age of 11 where his love of the ocean and its' mysteries developed. He credits inspirational teachers in high school and college with cultivating his interest in marine science . He returned to Boston to study at Northeastern University. Through the University's co-op program, he worked for the EPA, the Northeastern Lab, and the Milford Laboratory. He was hired at Milford in 1975 and retired after 40 years in 2015. He now lives in Cheshire, Connecticut.