Raeven Clockston is an alumna of the Colorado School of Public Health (ColoradoSPH), where she was a leader both in and out of the classroom. Her work towards anti-oppressive practices and leadership in student council has led her to her current position as Equity Specialist in the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the ColoradoSPH.
As a student during the 2020 school year, she, like many of us, faced a year of unforeseen challenges and frustration as a multitude of social inequities came to light on a national and global scale. The COVID-19 pandemic and deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, as a result of police brutality, were few of the many examples highlighting the disparities within our systems. During this time, Raeven and her colleagues came together to discuss their frustrations and reflect on their role as public health advocates. These conversations created the opportunity for the group to explore their positionality and involvement in social justice issues. Their fundamental belief that racism, discrimination, and social injustice are public health issues fueled the idea that ColoradoSPH has a responsibility to equip its students with the tools for teaching, supporting, and guiding others to engage in social justice and advocacy efforts.
Turning these frustrations into action, Raeven helped lead the group as they developed the ColoradoSPH at CSU Anti-Racism Student Action Group. This jump started the efforts that would pave the way for Raeven’s undertaking in leading an anti-oppressive campaign throughout her graduate career. The group created a manifesto and guidance documents to support the implementation of anti-racism, equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts at the ColoradoSPH. Raeven’s leadership in the Anti-Racism Student Action Group influenced her peers to encourage Raeven to join the student council and continue striving for systemic reform. Ultimately, she knew her leadership in the student action group had armed her to take on a new position with the student council as vice president. Her role empowered her to advocate for meaningful changes in the school’s curriculum through the incorporation of anti-racist and anti-oppressive values.
Using the manifesto documents as a guide for systemic change, Raeven continued to promote their vision until it came into fruition. To add value to their tireless effort, the School began investing in the leaders advocating for change. Raeven was one of two students who were hired as the Coordinators of Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to focus on the integration of social justice. This was the first ever paid position to work collaboratively with faculty in implementing the change demanded by the students. Raeven led three student workgroups in executing various objectives to shift the program toward anti-racist practice. In addition, she facilitated Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) focus groups with students within the program to collect, highlight, and elevate their stories and perspectives. The stories that emerged became the directive for future efforts to ensure that these student voices will continue to be heard and centered following her transition out of the student role.
Following graduation, Raeven continues to shape the culture of the school by serving as the first ever Equity Specialist in the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) at the ColoradoSPH. Her role for the past year and a half has been dedicated to increasing EDI initiatives and making structural changes to move the program in alignment with the core commitment of dismantling structural racism. Currently she is involved in developing the ColoradoSPH Search Advocate Training Program, supporting the ongoing Inclusive Excellence Learning Series, facilitating the ColoradoSPH Campus Community Read book club, and is a leader in the Inclusive Excellence Committee (IEC). Moving forward Raeven will continue to play an integral role in the implementation of ColoradoSPH’s strategic plan in the areas of EDI. The goal is to continue strengthening the ColoradoSPH community culture by fostering inclusive excellence, to ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to the school’s academics, research, practice and service.
This article was written as a part of the Colorado Public Health Association's RISE Magazine