Raven Baxter
Technical organisations need their science to be trusted, understood, and acted on by audiences who do not share the technical training. The talent pool that can do this credibly is small, and is even smaller for organisations trying to reach communities that have historically been excluded from science. Most internal communications functions are not built for that gap.
Raven Baxter is a molecular biologist and science communication executive who helps research institutions, healthcare organisations, and science-led companies translate complex technical content into communication audiences trust.
Full Profile
Why organisations work with Raven Baxter
- She brings the credibility of a working scientist with a doctorate in the science of learning, which means her communication advice rests on evidence about how people actually absorb technical content, not marketing instinct.
- She has hosted Pfizer’s flagship podcast Science Will Win across two seasons, giving her demonstrated experience translating drug discovery and oncology research for general audiences inside a regulated commercial environment.
- Her body of work, including viral hip-hop science videos and TEDx talk “You Don’t Look Like a Scientist,” gives her unusual reach into communities most science communication never touches.
- She founded Fervae, the first social media management platform built specifically for working scientists, which positions her as a builder of the infrastructure science communication has been missing, not only a practitioner.
- Her recognitions, Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science, Fortune 40 Under 40 in Health, Ebony Power 100, signal credibility across science, health, and culture audiences in a way few single speakers can claim.
Biography highlights
- Founder and CEO of Fervae, a social media management platform for scientists, announced at Science Talk 2026.
- President and Executive Director of The Science Haven, a 501(c)(3) advancing STEM equity through programmes including Stellar Dreams, an astronomy education partnership with Celestron, CuriosityStream, and NASA.
- Host of Pfizer’s Science Will Win podcast (Seasons 5 and 6) and creator-host of The Science of Life with Dr. Raven Baxter.
- Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science (2022), Fortune 40 Under 40 in Health (2020), Ebony Power 100 (2022), AAUW Woman of Distinction (2022).
- Director of Development and Partnerships, and Chair of the Ethics Consortium, at the Association of Science Communicators.
- Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and the Science of Learning, University at Buffalo, with a dissertation on culturally responsive science communication.
Biography
Most science communication still treats audiences as a problem to be managed: simplified, talked down to, or routed through a press release. The result is that technical organisations are surprised, repeatedly, by how little of their work is understood outside their own walls. Raven Baxter’s career has been built on closing that gap with method, not charisma alone.
Trained as a molecular biologist at Buffalo State College and as a learning scientist at the University at Buffalo, she earned her doctorate with a dissertation on culturally responsive science communication, anchoring her practice in research about how technical content actually lands. She went on to host Pfizer’s Science Will Win across two seasons, taking drug discovery and oncology research to audiences a regulated pharmaceutical company could not reach through conventional channels.
She is now Founder and CEO of Fervae, a social media management platform built specifically for working scientists, announced at Science Talk 2026. Alongside Fervae, she leads The Science Haven, a 501(c)(3) advancing STEM equity, and serves as Director of Development and Partnerships and Chair of the Ethics Consortium at the Association of Science Communicators.
The recognitions track her dual reach across science and culture: Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science, Fortune 40 Under 40 in Health, the Ebony Power 100, the AAUW Woman of Distinction Award, and the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence. Her TEDx talk “You Don’t Look Like a Scientist” is her clearest single statement of why representation matters to the credibility of science itself.
Key speaking topics
- Science communication strategy
- Inclusive STEM representation
- Health and biomedical communication
- Diversity in scientific research and innovation
- Public trust in science
- Culturally responsive communication and education
- Building infrastructure for science communicators
Ideal for
- Heads of communications, public affairs, and corporate affairs at pharma, biotech, and healthcare organisations
- Chief diversity officers and CHROs in science-led and technical industries
- University and research institution leaders responsible for public engagement and outreach
- Foundations and nonprofits investing in STEM education, equity, and workforce pipeline
Audience outcomes
- A clearer view of why technical credibility and cultural credibility have to live in the same person for science to be trusted across audiences.
- Specific examples of how working scientists and communicators are using digital platforms to reach communities that traditional outreach has missed.
- A working sense of what culturally responsive science communication looks like in practice, drawn from her own research and field work.
- A more honest read of where institutional science communication is falling short, and what infrastructure has been missing.