Lecturers at the Jefferson Educational Society

Raven Clark, B.A., is an Erie native and current resident. She is a graduate of Villa Maria Academy and went on to attend Allegheny College; where she studied music, political science, law, public policy, economics, history, French, Arabic, math, geology, and environmental science. During her time at Allegheny, Raven was involved in the Civic Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Strings Orchestra, Select Strings ensemble, Orchesis Dance Company, cheerleading, track & field, and held executive positions in the Reproductive Health Coalition. In 2019, she graduated from the Allegheny Law & Policy program, as well as completing and defending her senior thesis. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Allegheny College in 2019. She is currently studying for her Master of Science degree in Communications/journalism at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. 

Raven has a background of research and writing in the social sciences, most notably spending two years actively participating in independent and group research of urban agriculture and food policy in western PA. Her undergraduate research culminated in her thesis: Models to Incorporate Agriculture into the Urban Planning and Development of Small to Mid-Size Rust Belt Towns, which examines the ways in which Erie, PA and Meadville, PA have already begun to embrace urban agriculture on a policy level, and ways that other cities in the region have made advancements in urban agriculture. She continued to expand her academic skills with a post-graduate, professional research project with the Blue Mountain Center, of the history of Indigenous people in the Adirondack region going back thousands of years. 

Raven is a lifelong artist and patron of the arts. She is primarily a writer and violinist but loves all sorts of creative expression.  She is interested in the intersections of business, politics, public policy, ethics, sustainability, economics, agriculture, art, culture, and fashion. She aspires to become a journalist.