Graduate Women in Science honors Dr. Raven Baxter with its 2023 Science Communication Award
Graduate Women in Science named Dr. Raven Baxter an honorary member with its 2023 Science Communication Award, a category the society added after 2020.
AFROTECH names Dr. Raven Baxter to its inaugural Future 50 list
Launched in 2022 by AFROTECH, whose conference grew from 650 attendees in 2016 to more than 37,500 in 2024, the list honors 50 Black innovators in tech
The portrait of Baxter that AFROTECH published with her Future 50 entry. Photo: Dr. Raven the Science Maven
AFROTECH named Dr. Raven Baxter to its first Future 50 list on February 21, 2022. The list ran on afrotech.com for Black History Month and placed her in its Masterminds section.
The list arrived as Black workers remained underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). A Pew Research Center analysis published in April 2021 found that Black workers made up 11% of all employed adults. They made up 9% of STEM workers and 7% of computer workers.
The inaugural list recognized 50 "rising titans in the tech industry," according to AFROTECH. Its honorees came from fields including consumer goods, fintech, venture capital, beauty and social impact. AFROTECH sorted them into five groups, named the Masterminds, Changemakers, Innovative Startups, Wealth Generators and Digital Architects.
AFROTECH described its 10 Masterminds as historical firsts and inventors "making a direct impact on science, health, and representation in education." Baxter's fellow Masterminds included physicist Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green and viral immunologist Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett. Corbett helped develop the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the National Institutes of Health. The section also named Zaila Avant-garde, the first African American winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. It also included LaShyra Nolen, the first Black woman class president of Harvard Medical School.
AFROTECH's entry called Baxter a molecular biologist who uses content creation, education and music "to foster creative thinking and create an inclusive space for students."
A week earlier, AFROTECH published an interview with Baxter about her partnership with Olay. Olay's stated goal was to double the number of women and triple the number of women of color in STEM by 2030. "Having support and guidance from someone who looks like you is the most encouraging form of mentorship for younger generations," Baxter told AFROTECH.
AFROTECH is the technology brand of Blavity Inc. Blavity co-founders Morgan DeBaun and Jeff Nelson launched its conference in the Bay Area in 2016 with 650 attendees. In 2024 the conference drew more than 37,500 people to Houston, according to AFROTECH's history of the event. The Future 50 has continued since, and AFROTECH named its most recent class in 2026.
Baxter trained as a molecular biologist and worked in drug discovery before turning to science communication. Her Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo, which studied science communication, was conferred three weeks before the list ran.
The full 2022 list is on AFROTECH's website.
