Rate My Professor Louise Rak

In addition to lecturing, Rak holds the position of Widening Participation Programs Manager at the Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education, where she manages stakeholder relationships, strategic program development, and initiatives such as the Live, Learn Grow project aiding students from out-of-home care backgrounds to access higher education. She also manages the Name, Narrate, Navigate (NNN) program addressing youth violence through trauma-informed and culturally safe approaches. Her research specializations include community development, equity and widening participation in higher education, youth violence, and social justice. Key publications feature the co-authored book Working with Youth Violence: The Name.Narrate.Navigate Program (2023, with T. Blakemore, C. Krogh, S. McCarthy, G. Stuart); chapters including "Empathy Disrupted?" (2026, with T. Blakemore, C. Krogh), "Trauma, culture, and youth violence" (2023), and "Justice responses to youth violence" (2023); and journal articles such as "Now.See.Hear!: A Visual Conversation Tool for Trauma-Informed Practice with Justice-Involved Youth" (2025, with T. Blakemore et al.), "Don't Worry About Her; Intersectionality, and the Role of Systems and Structures..." (2025), "Who I Am, and Why That Matters" (2025), "His, hers and theirs: comparative narratives from young people who use violence" (2023, with T. Warton), "Deep Listening and Relationality: Cross-cultural Reflections on Practice With Young Women Who Use Violence" (2021, with T. Blakemore et al.), and "Live, Learn, Grow: Supporting young people with a care experience through higher education" (2017, with E.A. Fuller). Her contributions extend to numerous presentations, legislative submissions, reports, and practitioner training, impacting youth justice, social work practices, and educational equity.