Science Talk 2026 — Wayfinding

The Future of
Science Communication

Raven Baxter, Ph.D. — Closing Keynote

ASC

Association of Science Communicators — Executive Team

Kennen Hutchison

Executive Director

Allison Coffin, Ph.D.

President

Kirsten Sanford, Ph.D.

Executive VP

Colin Coleman

Treasurer

Bre Kelsey, P.S.M.

Program Director

Sky Hatter

Creative Lead

Justice Morath

Membership Director

Andy Freeberg

Member at Large

Eric Mazzacone

Marketing & Comms

Meagan Elde

Secretary

Dr. Raven Baxter

Partnerships & Development

You probably know me as

Dr. Raven the Science Maven

The early work

Antibodyody

Wipe It Down

NASA Did That

Raven Baxter
12
Years
325K+
Community
50M+
Impressions
Logo Creator Profile

Raven Baxter, Ph.D.

The Science Maven

Molecular biologist · Science communicator · Entrepreneur

Education

2022 Ph.D. Science Education — UB
2016 M.A. Biology (Molecular) — Buffalo State
2014 B.A. Biology — Buffalo State

Recognition

Forbes 30 Under 30 EBONY Power 100 Fortune 40 Under 40 AfroTech Future 50 People Magazine Anthem Award Living Legacy

Just So You Know

Bills Bills fan for life 🌶️ Loves spicy food 🥗 Allergic to a lot — makes it work 🐕 Dog mom to Carbon
fervae.com

When people ask me what I do, it’s hard to explain.
I just do me.

advocate. explorer. troublemaker. human. builder.

I show up 100% as myself, unapologetically.

MY JOURNEY

2014

B.A. Biology. Started making videos as a hair & beauty vlogger.

2016

M.A. Molecular Biology.

MEANWHILE

Vine era. YouTube’s golden age. Social media felt limitless.

Instagram Stories & Facebook Live launch. Algorithms shift from chronological to engagement-first.

Disneyland measles outbreak — 125 cases linked to declining vaccination rates fueled by online misinformation.

(CDC MMWR, 2015)

MY JOURNEY

2017

Brought science to the platform. The pivot.

2018

Started Ph.D. in Science Education. Dissertation on science communication.

MEANWHILE

1.07 million people march to defend science from being silenced.

(March for Science organizers, 2017; Fisher et al., PLOS ONE 2018)

Climate and vaccine researchers face frequent coordinated attacks on social media and other digital platforms.

(Nature, 2018)

2018

The platforms changed the rules.

Algorithms stopped rewarding what was accurate and started rewarding what was engaging.

False news spreads 6 times faster than the truth.

Facebook “Meaningful Social Interactions” algorithm change, Jan 2018 · Vosoughi, Roy & Aral, MIT Media Lab — Science, 2018

🦠 😷 🦠 🧪 🦠 📡 🦠 🧬 🦠 🔬 🦠 😷 🦠 🦠 📢 🦠 🧪 🦠 🧬 🦠 🔬 😷 🦠 📡 🦠 🧪 🦠 🦠 📢 🦠 🧬 🦠 😷

March 2020

The world needed scientists to communicate.

The tools didn't keep up.

MY JOURNEY

2020

COVID hits. Science communication goes from niche to essential.

2022

Ph.D. earned. Dr. Raven the Science Maven.

MEANWHILE

Trust in scientists peaks at 87% — then begins a 14-point freefall to 73%.

(Pew Research, 2023)

TikTok explodes. Everyone becomes a “creator.” 41% of harassed scientists stop posting.

(Global Witness, 2023)

Anti-vax clusters outpaced pro-vax communities at recruiting undecided users among 100 million Facebook users studied.

(Johnson et al., Nature 2020)

MY JOURNEY

2026

ASC Board of Directors.

Leading the Ethics Consortium.

Building Fervae.

THE GAP

89%

say scientists are intelligent.

45%

say they’re good communicators.

(Pew Research, 2024)

That gap is the whole story.

Science communication is at a turning point.

89%

say scientists are intelligent

45%

say they’re good communicators

Pew Research Center, 2024

73%

trust in scientists — post-COVID low

Peaked at 87% in 2021. Fell 14 points by 2023.

Pew Research Center, 2023

41%

of harassed scientists stopped posting publicly

Survey of 468 climate scientists on online abuse.

Global Witness, 2023

INFLUENCER

vs.

SCIENCE
COMMUNICATOR

→

CULTURE
SHIFTER

Sharing facts isn’t enough anymore. We have to move culture forward.

10M views 👀
💰 #Sponsored
🧪 Lab coat selfie
GOING VIRAL 🔥
💊 Link in bio
Subscribe for TRUTH
🤑 Brand deal
50K new followers
🔬 cosplay
SHOCKING results
💸 Merch drop
They don't want you to know
🧫 Aesthetic science
Engagement farming 📈
No sources needed
🥼 White coat = credibility
💰💰💰
Algorithm first
Science is my personality
🎭 Performance > accuracy

Then came
the grift.

Lab coats for likes. Sources optional.

Clout over credibility.

Science became content.
Content became currency.

How to walk the line

Audiences can be bought. Understanding has to be earned.

Being right = persuasion.

Speak with people. Not at them.

Your audience doesn't need to understand everything. They need to feel something.

Association of Science Communicators

Association of Science Communicators

Wayfinding together.

ASC

You can find your way without a map.
But what if we built one?

ASC is building the infrastructure this field has been missing.

Institutions are too slow.

Programs are too rare.

The tools weren't built for us.

So we build our own way forward.

ASC

Introducing

The Science Communication
Consortium on Ethics

ASC

When everyone can call themselves a science communicator...

...who holds us accountable?

ASC

A structured approach to ethics in science communication.

Phase 1

● In Progress

Foundations

  • →Shared glossary & common language for the field
  • →Universal ethical principles across disciplines
  • →Landscape mapping of existing ethics work
  • →Identification of gaps & underserved communities

Phase 2

Up Next

Implementation

  • →Toolkit for research integrity & accuracy
  • →Equity, inclusion & representation in sci comm
  • →AI & emerging technology ethics guidelines
  • →Platform-specific ethical considerations

Phase 3

Coming Soon

Standards

  • →Peer-reviewed best practices per sub-domain
  • →Certification & credentialing pathways
  • →Community accountability mechanisms
  • →Living document updated as the field evolves

Science communication needs infrastructure.

I spent years piecing it together: finding research, managing my content, tracking my reach, staying ethical. I looked for a tool that did all of it. It didn’t exist.

So I built it.

Fervae

The home base for science communicators.

Discover · Publish · Engage

From the Latin

fervēre

to boil. to effervesce. to burn with passion.

“I can’t cite my sources on social media — there’s no good way.”

01 — Discover & Publish

Find research. Cite sources.
Publish everywhere.

Journals, preprints, and science journalism — filtered to your niche. Select sources, compose, and publish across every platform with receipts attached.

Discovery Hub 1 selected
CRISPR-Cas9 targets BCL11A with 94% efficacy
Nature Medicine Genetics
FDA approves first CRISPR therapy for sickle cell
NEJM Genetics
Long-term safety data on gene editing therapies
The Lancet Genetics
Coral reef recovery in marine reserves
PNAS Marine
Create Post with 3 Sources →
3 Sources Cited
Nature Medicine · 10.1038/s41591-024
NEJM · 10.1056/NEJMoa2031054
The Lancet · 10.1016/S0140-6736
IG
TT
YT
BS
TH
✓ Published to 5 platforms Publish
curious_student Curious
This is really interesting! Where can I read the full study?
Dr
you
Great question! Here's the full study and all my sources:
Source Link
fervae.com/s/dr-chen/crispr-sickle-cell
3 sources · Nature Medicine, NEJM, The Lancet
✓ Reply sent with sources Link in bio updated

“I don’t know how to respond to misinformation in my comments.”

🎯
Practice Scenario 7 of 12
wellness_warrior
“Natural immunity is way better than any vaccine. Why would I inject something unnatural?”
Truth Sandwich ACE Bridge
ACE: Affirm their concern → Counter with evidence → Explain why it matters
[A] That’s a really common question, and your immune system is powerful. [C] Studies show both natural and vaccine-induced immunity offer protection, but they work differently. [E] Here’s a breakdown from the CDC that compares the two side by side...
Strong response! Loading scenario...
🔥 7-day streak

02 — Train Your Voice

Communication is a skill.
Skills get trained.

Interactive training programs, real-world scenarios, proven frameworks like ACE and Truth Sandwich. Build your fluency over time.

“Managing comments across five platforms is exhausting.”

03 — Engage

Every comment. Every platform.
One inbox.

All your comments in one place, categorized by type, with coaching prompts and framework-guided replies. Respond thoughtfully, every time.

Inbox
All IG YT BS TH FB
IG
bio_curious Skeptical
Wait, so vaccines DO change your DNA?
💡 Coaching: Validate their question. Use the ACE framework — acknowledge curiosity, correct gently, explain.
✓ Reply sent · Marked resolved via Instagram
YT
sciencefan22Supportive
This was so helpful, thank you! 🙏
BS
neuro.nerdCurious
Can you share the DOI for this?
TH
truthfinderHostile
nice try, pharma shill 💰
IG
stem.teacherSupportive
Can I use this in my classroom?
YT
data_skepticHostile
Climate change is just a natural cycle 🙄
BS
grad.student.lifeSkeptical
What about the long-term effects?

Authenticity + the right tools + each other =

the antidote.

Raven Baxter

Thank you.

Raven Baxter, Ph.D.

“Raven the Science Maven”

contact@thesciencemaven.com thesciencemaven.com @raventhesciencemaven
ASC Raven the Science Maven Fervae
1 / 35