n 1993, Jean Leclerc Raphael graduated
from Xaverian Brothers High School as
co-valedictorian and was named “most
intelligent” by his classmates in the
senior superlatives. He went on to do
his undergraduate studies at William’s College
before attending Harvard Medical School. Dr.
Raphael completed his residency in pediatrics
and became Chief Resident at Boston
Children’s Hospital. He then concurrently
earned his Master of Public Health from
Harvard and trained in health disparities
through the Commonwealth Fund Harvard
University Fellowship in Minority Health
Policy. Upon graduation from that program, he
was offered a position at Texas’s Baylor College
of Medicine, primarily focused on general
pediatrics but with a secondary appointment
in hematology and oncology. Now, Dr. Raphael
is the Head of Academic General Pediatrics
at Texas Children’s Hospital, overseeing the
primary care program in terms of clinical care,
research, education, and advocacy. He is also
the Founding Director of the hospital’s Center
for Child Health Policy and Advocacy.
It was a long road from his childhood
growing up in a single-family home in
Dorchester, commuting 90 minutes to
and from school, his activities dictated by
the schedule of the 34E Forest Hills bus
because it was his only way of getting home.
But throughout the journey, he knew he
wanted to make a difference for underserved
communities, and he believed helping children
was the best way to do that.
“I’ve always been interested in child health.
Growing up in Dorchester, I wanted to give
back to communities that were vulnerable and
underserved. That was always a passion of
mine. I felt that getting into healthcare would
allow me to take care of families - to take care
of children. The key with children is that there’s
so much potential there. Being able to interact
with them at that stage of development is an
opportunity to transform their lives, and also
the lives of their families as well.”
Now the Boston native who has lived in
Texas since 2006 is busy raising three children.
Despite a 16-year absence from the city, he
considers himself a Bostonian to this day,
checking Boston.com each morning and
raising his children in the proud tradition
of cheering on the Boston home teams. The
Raphael’s are known around Houston as “the
Boston family,” because they’re often spotted
in public wearing Boston sports paraphernalia.
About the move, Dr. Raphael says, “Texas
Children’s Hospital is a large hospital and it
has the great academics that I wanted.” Plus,
he adds, the cost of living in Boston had gotten
more expensive. So, Dr. Raphael and his young
family packed up and they made the move.
No matter where he’s been located,
throughout his career Dr. Raphael has focused
on the issue of equity. He says, “Based on
where I grew up, seeing so many families
including my own deal with a lot of adverse
childhood experiences, the issue of equity has
always been an important one to me. Every
child should have an opportunity to succeed
in the ways that they desire, so that they can
meet the full potential of what they want to be
in the world. That doesn’t exist in the current
landscape because of economics, racism,
bias, access to health care, and issues around
educational opportunity. My overarching goal
Promoting Equity and the
Next Generation of Leaders
Dr. Jean Raphael ’93
Every child should
have an opportunity
to succeed in the
ways that they
desire, so that they
can meet the full
potential of what
they want to be in
the world.
2 www.xbhs.com
2211827_TextA.indd
12/22/22
5:04 PM
in my career has been to try to advance health
equity and to increase the opportunities for
children to really succeed in life.”
He’s been able to do this in a variety of
ways. “There have been times when I’ve been
more involved in research on health equity
but now, being in the role of a leader, I have
more influence in terms of what our clinical
care looks like, how we educate our learners
and our faculty about health equity, and also
pushing our group and our institution in areas
of advocacy to ensure that there is equity
within the healthcare system and in the general
society.”
Dr. Raphael says his experience at Xaverian
played a “huge role” in his life. Because he
grew up without a father present, he says the
relationships and role models at Xaverian took
on added importance for him. “Having that
community, that constant nurturing from all
the teachers and the administration, made it a
place I went into every day, and I felt cared for
and nurtured. I knew all of the people around
me were invested in me as a person. I think
Xaverian was such a great match for me in
terms of high school.” He didn’t always think
that, though. Young Jean dreamt of going to
a different area boys’ school. He’d never even
heard of Xaverian. He and his mother attended
a school fair, however, and heard one of the
Xaverian Brothers give a presentation on their
school in Westwood.
“My mom was just so impacted by her
conversation with the Brother who was
presenting. At the end of it, she said, ‘This
is where you’re going,’” he says. “I knew that
conversation meant a lot to her. With the
attention they paid to us that day and when I
visited the school, I was also convinced; there
was no question where I wanted to go. Xaverian
just had the environment and the culture that I
wanted for the next steps of my development.”
There were many teachers along the way at
Xaverian who Dr. Raphael remembers fondly.
Mr. Higgins, Mr. Glinski, Ms. Schofield, Dr.
Eckstrom, Mr. McCready—he rattles off their
names with a smile, talking about their unique
quirks or innate ability to show their students
how to overcome obstacles, to learn, and to
grow in mental toughness. “I can go through
the names of teachers at Xaverian very easily,
but college and med school not so much,”
he says. “It’s because Xaverian was such an
impactful part of my life. I looked forward to
seeing all of those teachers every day because
I knew they cared so much. They didn’t come
just to teach, they came to nurture their
students and make a difference.”
Dr. Raphael is sure to point out though
that the person who had the biggest influence
on his life at Xaverian wasn’t a teacher or an
administrator; it was his best friend, Andres
(Andy) Vizoso ’93. Andy passed away in July
2022 after a battle with gastric cancer. “He and I
were very different people, but we immediately
hit it off,” Dr. Raphael says. “He always inspired
Dr. Jean Raphael ’93 with his children, Zora, Glenna, and Griff
Photo credit to Quy Tran Photography
me, was a great support throughout my time
there, and will forever be part of the foundation
of who I aspire to be.”
Brother Daniel Skala, C.F.X., former
Xaverian Headmaster and current General
Superior of the Congregation of the Brothers of
St. Francis Xavier, remembers Jean as a young
man. “Not only was Jean an outstanding student
blessed with considerable intelligence, but he
also was a humble and compassionate young
man. He had an uncanny ability to connect with
fellow students and faculty, and he was always
ready to help out in any way he could. It was
easy to see that Jean had tremendous promise.”
Dr. Raphael has put that promise, humility,
compassion, and his ability to connect with
others to work fostering the next generation
of physicians. “It’s so easy to get focused on
what you accomplish and what you do, but that
only goes so far,” he says. “It’s so much more
important to consistently think about how you
can help other people get to where they need to
go. I’m most proud of being able to mentor and
provide career guidance to people who also
want to do great work for children and have an
impact on the world. I’ve done research, I’ve
had different leadership roles, I’ve been able
to have a lot of individual success in that way,
but it’s not meaningful to me. It’s the other
part that’s meaningful. It goes back to what I
learned at Xaverian, what’s essential is how you
impact the world.”
Winter 2023
Xaverian Magazine
2211827_TextA.indd
12/22/22
5:04 PM