Dr. Rae Stevenson is a writer, scholar, youth worker, and Assistant Professor of Community, Youth, and Education Studies at Clark University in Worcester, MA. Rae's scholarship focuses on creating participatory, justice-centered spaces where young people are empowered to tell their stories, critique systems, and imagine radical futures for their communities. Rooted in bell hooks’ framework of love as a radical act and a practice of freedom, Rae’s projects prioritize relational accountability, creative expression, and youth power.

She holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from the interdisciplinary City, Culture, and Community program at Tulane University. Rae designs participatory, arts-based projects that challenge extractive models of research and schooling. Her work spans classrooms, summer programs, and grassroots initiatives, and explores youth participatory action research (YPAR), arts-based methods, and collaborative storytelling. She has created and supported a number of youth-led research initiatives, including the 2021 New Orleans YPAR Academy and collaborations with the Center for Youth Equity at Tulane University. 

Rae's dissertation centered on a youth-led, arts-based research project, resulting in a graphic novel anthology that explored racialized experiences in the New Orleans school system. Her published works include “The Light through the Woods,” a children’s picture book about grief, and short graphic stories in indie comics anthologies.

When she's not teaching youth to stick it to the man, you can find her making terrible art, reading graphic novels, and enjoying the company of her sweet little family.