Big Ideas, Real Impact.
Dr. Raven Baxter is a science communication executive and education leader whose work is centered on strengthening institutions as environments where science, learning, and leadership can endure.
Her career spans higher education, academic medicine, and national science engagement, with responsibility for building systems that translate expertise into durable educational practice and public trust.
She leads efforts that align institutional structures, learning environments, and public-facing responsibility to cultivate scientific and academic leadership across generations.
Leadership
Dr. Baxter has held senior leadership roles within complex academic and research environments, often during periods of heightened public scrutiny and institutional strain.
Her work has focused on organizing cross-unit efforts, establishing communication and learning infrastructure, and ensuring that institutional expertise can move reliably into practice rather than remaining siloed or person-dependent.
Dr. Baxter has been responsible for aligning experts, educators, clinicians, and external partners around shared standards so institutional knowledge could scale beyond a single site.
Bridging the TRUST Gap
Her leadership experience includes serving as Director of Diversity Initiatives in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, where she built systems to support faculty, staff, and student success across one of the nation’s largest public research universities.
She later served as Director of Science Communication at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she led the development of education and translation infrastructure within the Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illness, the world’s first medical center dedicated to infection-associated chronic illness.
Foundations
Dr. Baxter’s systems-level approach to leadership is grounded in formal training across science and education. She earned a PhD in Science Education from the University at Buffalo, where her scholarship examined how communication, identity, and institutional context shape persistence and leadership in science.
She completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology at SUNY Buffalo State, where she combined rigorous scientific training with extensive teaching, advising, and student-support responsibilities.
Her academic pathway also includes formative study within the State University of New York system, including SUNY Erie Community College, shaping her understanding of access, mobility, and the full arc of public higher education.
Educational Initiatives and Public Leadership
Dr. Baxter is the Founder and President of The Science Haven, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to science learning and leadership pathways. Through initiatives such as Stellar Dreams, which delivers astronomy education and telescopes to families nationwide, she has built scalable models that connect scientific curiosity to long-term educational opportunity.
Dr. Baxter is also widely recognized for her public-facing science leadership. Known to many as Dr. Raven the Science Maven, she has engaged millions through evidence-based science communication, particularly during periods of widespread misinformation. Her work has extended into national advisory and engagement efforts with federal agencies, foundations, and major science organizations, including collaborations with FDA, NASA, NIH, and participation in science and education initiatives connected to The White House.
WHEN SCIENCE COMMUNICATION CREATES CHANGE
WHEN SCIENCE COMMUNICATION CREATES CHANGE
Recognition and Orientation
Toward the Future
Dr. Baxter’s work has been recognized nationally, including being named to Fortune’s 40 Under 40 and Forbes 30 Under 30 for her contributions to science communication and education leadership. She is frequently invited to advise institutions, speak at national convenings, and contribute to conversations about the future of science, education, and public trust.
At the core of her work is a belief that scientific and academic leadership is shaped by the conditions institutions create, the systems they maintain, and the responsibilities they model. Dr. Baxter’s leadership is oriented toward building those conditions so today’s learners and future leaders are prepared to serve with public purpose.