Founded in July 2020, Cohort Sistas supports more than 4,500 Black women and historically excluded scholars on the path to and through the Ph.D.
Baxter opens her keynote at the Cohort Sistas fifth anniversary gala in Washington, March 7, 2026. Photo: Victoria Ford for Cohort Sistas
Cohort Sistas presented Dr. Raven Baxter with its Living Legacy Award on March 7, 2026, at its fifth anniversary gala in Washington. Baxter also gave the evening's keynote at The Gathering Spot DC, while watch parties joined online.
The gala, "Claiming Space: Celebrating 5 Years of Community, Scholarship, and Change," honored three women. Baxter shared the award with Dr. Shireen Lewis and Dr. Aprille Ericsson. Her crystal award reads "For visionary leadership in doctoral scholarship and service."
Living Legacy honorees Baxter, Lewis and Ericsson, from left. Photo: Victoria Ford for Cohort Sistas
Lewis co-founded SisterMentors in 1997 to help women of color finish their doctorates. Ericsson, a NASA aerospace engineer for three decades, was confirmed in 2024 as the first assistant secretary of defense for science and technology. In the host's recap, founder Dr. Ijeoma Kola wrote that the honorees "have invested in the next generation by creating opportunities, opening doors, and expanding what leadership looks like."
The night came during a hard season for doctoral study. In January, George Washington University paused fall 2026 admissions to five Ph.D. programs, citing a difficult fiscal environment. Boston University, the University of Chicago and Harvard had already cut Ph.D. admissions over budget concerns, Inside Higher Ed reported.
Baxter titled her keynote "Silver Linings: Our Whole Selves and a Brighter Future." No recording was published, but the host's photos show her slides. She began with her own start in science. "A kid who never stopped asking why," one slide read.
Baxter tells the room why she became a scientist. Photo: Victoria Ford for Cohort Sistas
Another slide asked, "What happens when the science community leaves the conversation?" It cited a 2023 Nature poll of about 9,200 researchers, in which 46% had moved to other platforms as many cut back on Twitter/X. In January, Pew Research Center found Americans' confidence in scientists still below pre-pandemic levels.
Baxter offered four silver linings. Showing up as yourself deepens connection, and science is rediscovering connection. Identity can be a bridge, and community is where safety and curiosity grow. "The silver linings are already in our work. We just need to bring our whole selves to sharing them," a slide read. She built the talk around three roles doctoral scholars can take on, the Amplifier, the Builder and the Spark.
Baxter's silver linings message on the gala screen. Photo: Victoria Ford for Cohort Sistas
Cohort Sistas began in July 2020, "in the wake of increased racial justice mobilization" and the pandemic's disruption of in-person networks. It now counts more than 4,500 scholars across 48 states and over 40 countries. Its about page notes that Black women earn 3% of U.S. research doctorates while making up 7% of the population.
Baxter, a molecular biologist known online as Dr. Raven the Science Maven, earned her Ph.D. at the University at Buffalo in 2022. She later wrote of the moment, "While receiving the award, my brain generated the thought, 'But… I'm just getting started!'"
Cohort Sistas published its gala recap on its website.
Stellar Dreams, the telescope program of Dr. Raven Baxter's nonprofit The Science Haven, won a Gold Award in the first Astronaut Rock Star Awards for National Astronaut Day 2024.
Graduate Women in Science named Dr. Raven Baxter an honorary member with its 2023 Science Communication Award, a category the society added after 2020.
The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture released a career conversation with Dr. Raven Baxter, whose interviewer noted she is featured in the museum's new Afrofuturism exhibition.
