PepsiCo, formed in 1965 from Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, employs about 318,000 people and sells its foods and drinks in more than 200 countries and territories
Dr. Raven Baxter gave the keynote at PepsiCo's Juneteenth Celebration on June 5, 2024. She spoke to company employees in a virtual address.
The celebration fell in Juneteenth's fourth year as a federal holiday. President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on June 17, 2021. It was the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. The day marks June 19, 1865, when news of emancipation reached enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, according to the Congressional Research Service.
More employers were marking the date. Consulting firm Mercer told Axios that 41% of employers with 500 or more workers made it a paid holiday in 2024, up from 9% in 2021. A YouGov poll taken May 23 to 26, 2024 found that 90% of Americans had heard of Juneteenth, up from 74% in 2022. Fewer knew much about it. Only 17% said they knew a lot about it, including 32% of Black Americans and 13% of white Americans.
PepsiCo formed in 1965, when Pepsi-Cola merged with Frito-Lay. Its brands include Lay's, Doritos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola and Quaker. Its 2023 annual report counts about 318,000 employees worldwide, about 134,000 of them in the United States, and $91.5 billion in net revenue.
In June 2020 the company announced a five-year commitment of more than $400 million toward racial equality. Its goals included adding more than 250 Black associates to management by 2025, at least 100 of them executives. It also pledged deeper recruiting ties with Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Evan Young of PepsiCo described the keynote in a review published on Baxter's site. "Her powerful words invoked many emotions – happiness, laughter, sadness, and inspiration to name a few," he wrote. He credited "her love and passion for science" for the way she connects with audiences. One employee who attended called her "so interesting, brilliant and just awesome!"
Baxter is a molecular biologist and science communicator, known online as Dr. Raven the Science Maven. She earned her Ph.D. at the University at Buffalo, where her research focused on science communication.
Reviews from PepsiCo and other hosts appear on her speaking page.
Dr. Raven Baxter joined National Fair Housing Alliance President and CEO Lisa Rice on June 28, 2026, for a fireside chat on housing discrimination at the alliance's national conference in Washington.
Dr. Raven Baxter joined three fellow University at Buffalo alumnae on the UB Distinguished Keynote Panel at the 4th Annual WNY Leadership Summit on May 29, 2026.
Dr. Raven Baxter gave the interactive closing keynote of SCIENCE TALK '26, the Association of Science Communicators' 10th conference, in Portland, Oregon, on March 27, 2026.
