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Biography
Dr. Jess Sparks is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Agriculture, Food, and Environment at the Friedman School, where she investigates how climate and environmental change shape working conditions in global food systems—from decent work to forced labor and human trafficking. Using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed social science methods, she examines labor risks across supply chains, with deep expertise in marine capture fisheries, and the links between IUU fishing, fish stock declines, and exploitation at sea. Her research also extends to agricultural, forestry, brick, and critical mineral sectors, with a consistent commitment to worker‑driven sustainability and engaging workers’ voices in research. Applied in nature, her work informs frontline agencies and policymakers and has contributed to new interventions such as the first worker‑driven social responsibility pilot in fisheries, and the Vatican’s pastoral responses to human trafficking.
Dr. Sparks’ recent research on working conditions in UK fishing was featured in The Guardian, and her current research projects involve a global analysis of working conditions in fishing using a dataset she constructed from more than 2,000 surveys with fishers; the development of a living wage framework for migrant fishers in globalized seafood value chains; approaches to carbon footprinting modern slavery; and a comparative analysis of the risks of forced labor across diets in the US.
Jess has worked in the labor and human rights fields for over 15 years, first as a social worker and now as a researcher. Prior to joining the Friedman School, she was the Associate Director of the Ecosystems and Environment Programme at the University of Nottingham Rights Lab (UK) and a Nottingham Research Fellow. She maintains affiliations with the Rights Lab and the Stanford University Center for Ocean Solutions and is a Course Director in the MS in Conservation Medicine program at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.
