As an Associate Professor of Sociology at LIU Post, I teach courses in environmental sociology, research methods, gender, race/ethnicity, social problems, feminism, food, and globalization. I conduct community-engaged research on farmworker labor experiences (with a focus on gender). I have also spent many years studying civil society responses to technological advancements in agriculture and food in Mexico, Brazil, and the US. Read more about my research in the About tab. In Winter 2013 I took 16 students on a study abroad course through Southern Mexico. You can read more about it on this website. I also served as the chaperone for the 2023 Sociology study abroad class to Iceland.
Teaching
In Spring 2024, I am teaching Soc 3 “Social Problems,” and Soc 4 “Food & Society.” Email me: jennifer.brown(at)liu.edu or jennifer(at)coolmojo.net.
Service in Sociology and at LIU Post
I was elected Chair of LIU Post’s Faculty Council for the 2023-2024 school year. In this capacity, I lead meetings of the full faculty, report on academic issues on behalf of the faculty to the Board of Trustees, and work with faculty to evaluate programmatic and curricular changes. I am representing faculty on LIU’s search for a new VPAA. I am also facilitating the faculty’s efforts in designing a new core curriculum that aligns LIU Post and Brooklyn general education requirements.
From Dec 2020 – Jan 2024 I was the Treasurer for the national organization Sociologists for Women in Society. This is an elected 3-year term that includes one year serving as the Treasurer-Elect, Treasurer, and ending with Past-Treasurer. As Past-Treasurer, I served on the Investments Committee. As Treasurer, I participated in financial management and oversight of the operations, helped create the annual budget, evaluated budget requests and allocated funds, presented the budget to the national membership, and served on the Personnel Committee, Operating Budget Management Committee and the Publication Negations committee. I co-chaired the Organizational Reassessment Committee, which evaluated and interviewed consultants to run DEI-focused strategic assessment of the organization.
I am also a representative to the United Nations Department of Global Communications for the Sociologists for Women in Society. In this role, I attend events at the UN, particularly the annual Commission on the Status of Women and the Committee on Teaching about the UN. I often bring students to UN events.
My work with SWS and in attending the UN CSW led me to supporting the new US Women’s Caucus at the UN. I am a founding director and currently serve as the board’s Clerk/Treasurer. I write finance reports, develop annual budgets, report on finances to the board and membership, and successfully helped file for 501(c)(4) status. As a member of the organization, I have written 4 technical briefs about relevant topics for the UN CSW.
I am the Secretary/Treasurer for the Collective Behavior Social Movements Section at ASA (2021-2024).
Community Involvement
I am honored to be the Board President of Rural & Migrant Ministry’s and a board member since November 2017. RMM is a leading force for migrant farmworkers rights in New York. A large part of my local community work is in partnership with RMM and farmworker advocates. I have recently begun a collaborative research project on NY farmworker experiences, with a focus on gender, labor rights, and immigration.
From 2016-2021, I served on Puente a la Salud Comunitaria’s board of directors. Puente works with rural Oaxacan women and farmers to improve family nutrition and economic sustainability. A large focus of Puente’s work involves the promotion of amaranth as a strategic crop because of its nutritional qualities and history as an indigenous local crop. I first volunteered at Puente in 2006 while I was conducting my dissertation research on corn, activism, and gender divisions of labor. Puente’s commitment to local issues and sustainable practices is impressive and I applaud their investment in social justice.
Activities at LIU Post
I am a member of multiple committees and I love to bring speakers to campus (and take students on trips off campus!). I serve on LIU Post’s Institutional Review Board, The First Year Seminars committee, the Campus Writing Committee, and the Executive Board for the Faculty Union.
Long Island Applied Research Center— I was a member of the LIARC (now closed). In Spring 2017, students from my Feminism class worked with students from a film studies class to develop a film about sex trafficking for a local organization.
Public Speaking
Please feel free to ask me about speaking to your community group, classroom, NGO, or religious organization about farmworker labor experiences in NYS, the global climate crisis (and its local impacts), resistance to biotechnology and nanotechnology, or the global/local work of the United Nations on gender, rural issues, and the climate crisis.