The Evidence Collective elects Dr. Raven Baxter as a member
Members of The Evidence Collective, a network of scientists, clinicians and communicators, elected Dr. Raven Baxter to the group on March 4, 2026.
Health Sciences Charter School names Raven Baxter to lead its collegiate STEM initiatives
Opened in 2010 to answer a shortage of health care workers in Buffalo Niagara, the charter high school prepares students for careers in medicine and science
Raven Baxter joined Health Sciences Charter School in Buffalo in September 2019 as Director of Collegiate STEM Initiatives and Regents Chemistry Teacher. She held the role through the 2019-20 school year, while a doctoral student at the University at Buffalo.
Her main public project was the D'Youville Early College Bridge Program. It let the school's students earn college credit in high school "at no cost to the student," according to the school's program page. The school's website listed her as its College STEM Coordinator.
On Sept. 27, 2019, the program was presented at D'Youville College's groundbreaking for its Health Professions Hub. Four of the school's freshmen were featured in a live exhibit of the program, sharing their goals. They introduced themselves to Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. In her keynote, D'Youville President Lori Clemo recognized the charter school as one of the factors in the progress of the college's health professions programs, the school reported.
The 59,860-square-foot hub was planned as an education, training and community health center on Buffalo's West Side. It opened in June 2021.
"The Early College Bridge Program is an amazing opportunity for our students that I am currently organizing with D'Youville as our College STEM Coordinator," Baxter wrote in the school's announcement. Students would earn college credits "with opportunities to earn credentials in the form of certificates and even an associate's degree." The first cohort was that year's freshman class.
Each year, 30 freshmen would be selected. Applicants needed an attendance rate of at least 90%. "Students must be interviewed by the College STEM Coordinator, Ms. Raven Baxter," the school's eligibility page said. Applications for the first cohort were due Dec. 22, 2019.
The school's own teachers would teach college challenge courses for transferable credit. Students would attend pre-collegiate summer camps before their junior and senior years. Tutoring, career coaching and teacher training with college faculty were part of the model.
Health Sciences Charter School opened on Aug. 18, 2010, with a first class of ninth graders. It was founded to address "the critical shortage of skilled healthcare professionals in the Buffalo Niagara region," according to the school. Its board includes executives from ECMC, Roswell Park and Catholic Health. In May 2026, New York State approved its expansion to a full K-12 school. D'Youville, founded by the Grey Nuns in 1908, became a university in 2022.
In May 2020, the University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education reported that Baxter taught chemistry and directed the college STEM program at the school. When classes moved online that spring, she built a worksheet for her students from the lyrics of her "Wipe It Down" video.
In May 2020, during her year at the school, Baxter led a separate science experiment challenge for Buffalo teens on Mayor Byron Brown's Instagram. Photo: University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education
Baxter, a SUNY Buffalo State biological sciences alumna, worked in drug discovery at Albany Molecular Research before moving into science education. "I remember thinking to myself, There are kids literally down the street from me who are failing, and I'm in a lab all day," she told SUNY Buffalo State in a 2020 alumni profile. Her doctoral research at UB focused on science communication.
The school's history and mission are on its website.
