Rae Stevenson

Rae Stevenson is a researcher, storyteller, and educator whose work is rooted in bell hook’s framework of theory as liberatory practice.

Rae has had the privilege of working with young learners from a variety of age groups and backgrounds, supporting education nonprofits from Portland, Oregon to Jacmel, Haiti. Rae’s background includes developing social justice and empowerment programming for children and young adults. As an early childhood educator in Portland, Rae introduced afterschool social justice workshops to familiarize young children with the concepts of systemic inequality, political action, and civic responsibility. As an admin team member for a grassroots nonprofit in Haiti, Rae organized a young women’s empowerment seminar, which invited local women in leadership to discuss their experiences and paths to leadership.

Rae’s experience with children and young adults has led her to pursue system level change in education through research activism. Her research interests focus on the role of antiblackness and white supremacy in education policy. Ultimately, her work aims to improve our understanding of the ways that our K-12 education system reifies and perpetuates racialized inequality.

Rae is also an alumna of National Education for Women’s Leadership of Oregon and a 2018 McNair scholar.