Raven Reyes

Raven Reyes is graduating June 2024 with a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies, with disciplinary focuses in Native American Studies, English, and Gender Studies, as well as a Certificate in Native American Studies and a Certificate in Ethic and Racial Studies. Raven’s research interests include settler colonialism, decolonizing methodologies, and disability justice.

During their time as a student, Raven has helped organize (and at times, emcee) several panels locally and virtually on topics such as LGBTQ+ health, QTBIPOC experiences in Southern Oregon, and LGBTQ+ history in Southern Oregon. They also helped to organize the 2019 Southern Oregon LGBTQ+ Health & Wellness Summit, a conference geared toward providing education and resources to local providers working with LGBTQ+ communities. In response to the ending of several groups serving LGBTQ+ communities in the area, Raven started the LGBTQ+ Listening Project at the Rogue Action Center and helped create a survey to assess community needs and gaps in services for the local LGBTQ+ population. The survey, which saw over 700 respondents, can be viewed here. They presented on the project and its survey at the Basic Rights Oregon Statewide Action Summit in 2020, along with their colleagues Ollie Harkola, Eliot Feenstra, Dr. Carey Jean Sojka, and Elanna Erhardt. Raven served as the Board Chair for Rogue Action Center for two years and has also served on the boards of Compass House and Southern Oregon Health Equity Coalition (SO Health-E).

During their time at SOU, Raven worked as the Project Lead for the Native American Studies Alumni Project, presented at the National Women’s Studies Association with Dr. Carey Jean Sojka, and completed Teaching Assistantships for Queer Indigenous Studies and Introduction to Literature with their mentors, Dr. Brook Colley and Dr. Alma Rosa Alvarez. Raven served as a Student Representative on SOU’s Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Council for the 2022-23 academic year and is an active member of the Native American Student Union and the Latino Student Union. They are currently working on a year-long capstone developing an upper division Native Feminisms course for the Native American Studies Program, under the guidance of Dr. Alvarez.

After graduating from SOU, Raven plans on enrolling in a PhD program with a strong focus on the intersections of Indigeneity, race, disability, and decolonial theory. They look forward to becoming a university professor after earning their PhD, encouraging both critical engagement and community involvement.

McNair Faculty Mentors: Dr. Brook Colley, Dr. Alma Rosa Alvarez