On the stage

Keynotes, distinguished lectures, panels, and commencement addresses from a molecular biologist and science communicator. I help research institutions, healthcare organizations, and science-led companies turn complex technical work into communication their audiences trust. From Pfizer's Science Will Win to TEDx, NSTA, Princeton, Disney, and PepsiCo, I've reached tens of millions on stages and on screens.

Book me to speak →Watch me on stage

Watch me on stage

Prefer a full, unedited talk? Princeton, Amplifying Voices Distinguished Lecture (1:22) · SciComm 2020 opening keynote (54 min)

On tour

Keynotes, distinguished lectures, and conversations, on the road through 2027. Your institution belongs here.

Feb 2026Oklahoma Research Day KeynoteTahlequah, Oklahoma✓
Mar 2026Science Talk 2026 KeynotePortland, Oregon✓
May 2026Distinguished Alumni PanelUniversity at Buffalo, New York✓
Fall 2026Statewide KeynoteNew Yorkup next
Spring 2027Distinguished LectureGeorgiato be announced
Spring 2027Distinguished LectureCaliforniato be announced
Bring the tour to your stage →

Signature talks

For general and corporate audiences

01

The Molecules Running Your Everyday Life

Wonder, delivered at the molecular scale

Your morning coffee is a molecular impersonation act. Your hair holds its style, or gives it up in the rain, because of two kinds of chemical bonds. The smell after a storm has a name. This keynote is a joyride through the molecules behind an ordinary day, told the way I tell them to millions of people online, with the mechanism intact and the delight front and center. Audiences leave seeing their own routines as the science exhibit they've been living inside all along.

Made for · Corporate events, general audiences, museums and festivals, and any room that wants to fall back in love with how things work

Your audience leaves with
  • The molecular stories behind coffee, hair, soap, and the smell of rain
  • A feel for how scientists chase a mechanism, from question to answer
  • Permission to be delighted by things you see every day
Three people raising coffee cups together over a table
02

Take Up Space

You Don't Look Like a Scientist, my TEDx talk

The sentence 'You don't look like a scientist' is one I heard so many times it stopped stinging and started teaching, and it became my TEDx talk. This keynote is my story, from college dropout to Ph.D. to a global platform, and what it taught me about who feels welcome in science and how to widen the field without lowering the bar. Audiences leave with concrete ways to open doors wherever they work and learn.

Made for · Universities and colleges, people and culture leaders, STEM programs, and commencements

Your audience leaves with
  • Why representation changes who tries science in the first place
  • What belonging looks like in labs, classrooms, and teams, in practice
  • Ways to open doors from whatever seat you hold

For institutions and the science communication field

03

In Science We Trust?

Trust is built by communicators, one audience at a time

Trust in science is earned the way trust in anything is earned, by showing up, speaking plainly, and respecting the people you're talking to. I've studied this as a researcher, with a Ph.D. centered on culturally responsive science communication, and practiced it with tens of millions of people online and with institutions from Pfizer to the FDA. This talk lays out what builds trust and what quietly spends it, with field examples from campaigns, clinics, and comment sections. As chair of the Ethics Consortium at the Association of Science Communicators, I bring the field's honest conversation about its own practices with me.

Made for · Pharma and biotech communications, public health teams, research institutions, and science media

Your audience leaves with
  • What builds trust with an audience, and what quietly erodes it
  • How culturally responsive communication works on the ground
  • Ways to put evidence in people's hands instead of asking for belief
An audience listening closely in a darkened hall
04

Communication Is a Leadership Function

Where communication belongs in a science organization

I've led communication inside academic medicine, advised executives through high-stakes moments, and built a company on the belief that communication is core scientific infrastructure. This talk makes the case that the organizations whose science lands are the ones treating communication as a function with strategy, budget, and standards. I walk through what that looks like structurally, what it costs when it's missing, and how leaders can build it where they are.

Made for · Executives and deans, communications and public affairs leadership, and federal and nonprofit leaders

Your audience leaves with
  • A structural view of communication as scientific infrastructure
  • The failure patterns that show up when communication is an afterthought
  • A starting blueprint for standing the function up where you work
A microphone in focus in front of a gathered room

Ideal for

Pharma, biotech & healthcare
01

Pharma, biotech & healthcare

Heads of communications, public affairs, and corporate affairs who need technical work understood and trusted well beyond their own walls.

Diversity & people leaders
02

Diversity & people leaders

Chief diversity officers and CHROs in science-led and technical industries building cultures where more people can do their best science.

Universities & research institutions
03

Universities & research institutions

Leaders responsible for public engagement and outreach who want their research to land with the communities they serve.

Foundations & nonprofits
04

Foundations & nonprofits

Teams investing in STEM education, equity, and the workforce pipeline, looking for a voice that reaches across science and culture.

Selected stages

Dr. Raven Baxter delivering the opening keynote at Science Talk 2026, announcing Fervae onstage to a full audience
Opening Keynote · Science Talk 2026, Association of Science Communicators
Book me to speak →
Nov 2026
Science Teachers Association of New York
Keynote
Mar 2026
Science Talk '26 · Association of Science Communicators
Opening Keynote
Nov 2024
Virginia Tech · Hugh & Ethel Kelley Distinguished Lecture
Distinguished Lecturer
Jun 2024
PepsiCo · Juneteenth
Corporate Keynote
Apr 2023
The Walt Disney Company · JEDI Program
Keynote
May 2023
SUNY Buffalo State · 151st Commencement
Commencement
Sep 2022
Princeton · Amplifying Voices
Distinguished Lecturer
Apr 2022
NSTA National Conference
Closing Keynote
Sep 2020
TEDx · “You Don't Look Like a Scientist!”
TEDx Talk
Dr. Raven Baxter is a revelation, or rather, a whole host of them! During my decade of work in and around science communication, I've had the privilege to learn from many outstanding speakers, but none can match the insight, inspiration, education, entertainment, and sheer joy Dr. Raven shares with her audiences.
Jocelyn BosleyResearch Impact Coordinator · University of Nebraska–Lincoln
You did an amazing job! Your interview is now its own stand-alone segment.
Hope NashSegment Producer · Red Table Talk
I loved how you said a passion to protect and promote health is a powerful message.
Ayanna TuckerU.S. Food & Drug Administration
Her ability to authentically connect with audiences makes her ideal for any event. I cannot recommend Dr. Raven enough!
Evan YoungPepsiCo
Dr. Baxter has gained a reputation as a legacy science communicator, demonstrating what an inclusive, engaged, and authentic science community can look like.
Katrina BrooksAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science
Your talk was riveting and really cut to the core of why your mission is so important.
Cheryl McKissack DanielCEO · McKissack & McKissack
Your energy and authenticity truly set the tone for the weekend, and your message clearly made an impact.
Michele HolcombCalifornia Science Education Conference
Her energy, expertise, and thoughtful comments were truly uplifting.
Megan LitwhilerMuseum of Science, Boston
Your unique story and genuine commitment to science is so critical and compelling!
Karla Shepard RubingerRosalind Franklin Society
Trusted by
Dr. Raven Baxter speaking with a microphone to an audience at Oklahoma Research Day, Northeastern State University
Oklahoma Research Day · Northeastern State University
Science, said out loud.

Let's get you on the calendar

Tell me about your event. The audience, the date, and the message you want your people to leave with. I read every inquiry myself and reply by email.

Dr. Raven Baxter in conversation with an attendee at Oklahoma Research Day

Prefer email? Write me at contact@thesciencemaven.com