Jessica D. Cook Curriculum Vitae Department of Sociology, University of Illinois at Chicago 1007 West Harrison (MC312), Chicago, Il 60607 Email: jcook9@uic.edu Telephone: 785.550.2340 EDUCATION: University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) PhD Candidate in Sociology May 2013-present (Anticipated graduation summer 2016) Dissertation project working title: "Contesting Exclusion: Worker Centers as Sites for Low-Wage Temporary Staffing Industry Workers to Claim Full Citizenship Rights" Research interests: labor markets and organizing, precarious labor, worker centers, immigration, mass incarceration, citizenship and belonging, social inequality, global and transnational sociology, class, race, ethnicity, gender, social justice organizations and movements, and qualitative and critical ethnographic research methods Doctoral Student in the Department of Sociology August 2011 present M.A. in Sociology August 7, 2011 Masters Paper: What We Ask for is Justice!: Immigrant Worker Center Activism in a Suburban New Immigrant Destination" University of Kansas (KU) B.A. in African Studies and Sociology, with a minor in Economics GPA: 3.74, Graduation: May 21, 2006 Honors Program, KU Global Awareness Program (GAP), Certification in Service Learning, Certification in the KU Research Experience Program, Departmental Honors in Sociology Honors Thesis: The Effects of Economic Reforms on Women s Employment in Egypt: A Critical Review of the Research Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy and International Affairs Princeton, NJ Junior Summer Institute - Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow Summer 2005 Completed intensive coursework in microeconomics, statistics, and policy analysis related to Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) in the New Jersey juvenile justice system AWARDS: University of Illinois at Chicago Chancellor s Graduate Research Fellowship, Renewal Winner 2014 2015 University of Illinois at Chicago Chancellor s Graduate Research Fellowship 2013 2014 RESEARCH EXPERIENCE: NORC at the University of Chicago Graduate Research Assistant II (GRA) in the Education and Child Development Department March August 2015 Conducted detailed searches for sample members for the Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) through online resources Ethnographic Dissertation research Ph.D. Candidate, UIC Department of Sociology May 2013 January 2015 Designed and carried out 1.5 years of ethnographic participatory observation, focus groups, and semi-structured and informal interview research with two community based organizations and over 80 participants Supervised two undergraduate research assistants one who was transcribing my interviews and another who assisted me in translation for interviews with Spanish speaking participants Helped design and mentor the survey (summer 2013) and interview (summer 2014) research of 4 Occupational Health Internship Program (OHIP) interns involved with one of my research sites and the UIC School of Public Health "Latina Portrait: Latinas and Economic Security, with the Mujeres Latinas en Accion Invited research and writing collaborator August October 2014 With the Communications and Policy Associate of Mujeres Latinas en Accion, and the Assistant Director of the Center for Research on Women and Gender at the University of Illinois at Chicago, I used archival and statistical data to produce this year s Latina Portrait, which is an annual research publication produced by Mujeres Latinas en Accion and presented at their yearly Maria Mangual Latina Leadership Conference. This report is used to highlight social problems and policy recommendations relevant to Latinas and their families in the Chicagoland area. Cook - 1
NSF funded Chicago Area Study, University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Sociology Research Assistant and Coordinator of Labor/Business/Economics Team: New Destinations in an Old Gateway: The Interplay between Public and Private Actors in Shaping Local Immigration Policy Summer 2011 Oversaw, coordinated, and reported on the planning and implementation of work for this team which included two other graduate students, made reports and plans with the other group coordinators and faculty, and conducted qualitative research including face to face interviews and participant observation. Research Assistant: New Tensions in an Old Gateway: Immigration, Institutions, and Inter-Group Relations Summer 2010 Conducted face to face and telephone surveys, as well as extensive ethnographic fieldwork, including interviews and participant observation. TEACHING EXPERIENCE: National Louis University Adjunct Instructor PPA 570 Methods 2: Qualitative Research Design and Methodology Summer 2015 o This is a course in the College of Professional Studies and Advancement s Master of Arts in Public Policy and Administration graduate program. University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Sociology Graduate Student Instructor SOC 244: Sociology of Work Fall 2014, Spring 2015 o 80 students, 1 teaching assistant SOC 385: Introduction to Sociological Theory Summer 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Summer 2014 SOC 105: Social Problems Fall 2012, Spring 2013 Teaching Assistant SOC/LALS/AAST 225: Race and Ethnicity in the United States Spring 2010, Summer 2012 SOC 300: Introduction to Sociological Research Methods Spring 2012 SOC 100: Introduction to Sociology (Head TA) Fall 2011 SOC 501: Sociological Research Methods II: Qualitative and Ethnographic Methods (Graduate course) Spring 2011 SOC 100: Introduction to Sociology (TA for three discussion sections) Fall 2010 SOC/GWS 224: Gender and Society Fall 2009 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (UNAM-USA), Chicago Extension School English Department Instructor Advanced Level Writing and Grammar Summer 2013 Intermediate Level Reading Summer 2012 Latino Union English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor (Volunteer) February 2009 April 2009 Prepared lessons and taught ESL to adults involved in the worker s center Mexico Solidarity Network English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor (Volunteer) January 2009 April 2009 Prepared lessons and taught ESL to a class which varied in attendance between 5-18 adults ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS: International Journal of Comparative Sociology (IJCS) 54(1):76-77. Spring 2013 Book Reviewer for: Schneider, Dorothee. 2011. Crossing Borders: Migration and Citizenship in the Twentieth-Century United States. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ACADEMIC RELATED SERVICE AND MEMBERSHIP: Midwest School for Women Workers (MSWW) Annual training by the United Association of Labor Education (UALE) for union, worker center, and all women workers Planning and Curriculum Committee February 2015 present Collaborated to develop the programming, curriculum, and plenaries for the 2015 school, hosted by the DePaul University Labor Education Center in July. Plenaries and trainings spanned topics of racial justice, international supply chain justice, domestic worker organizing, attacks on workers in the Midwest, leadership training, labor laws, coalition Cook - 2
building, effective campaign communication, labor history, safe working conditions, organizing strategies. Was a participant in the Changing Minds: Learning to be an Educator for Social Justice. Writing for Publication Retreat of the Latin American Cities Working Group (LACWG) San Juan, Puerto Rico Participant May 31-June 6,2015 Was a trainee and participant in this competitive weeklong writing and publication retreat following the Latin American Studies Association meetings in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The retreat was sponsored by the Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Escuela Graduadade Planificación & Escuela de Arquitectura, and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Social Problems - the official publication of The Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) Member of Student Advisory Board for the Journal Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) Graduate Student Member January 2014-present January 2014-present Labor Research and Action Network (LRAN) national organization based in Washington, D.C. Academic Representative (elected), LRAN Advisory Committee September 2014 - present Co-Founder and organizer of LRAN Chicago chapter April 2013 present Work with other two co-founders to maintain an active listserve of and organize events for Chicago area labor activists, union and worker center staff and volunteers, and graduate students and faculty involved with labor related research and teaching. Graduate Student Member, LRAN Conference Planning Committee Summer 2013 present Plan and facilitate the speakers, workshops, panels, and logistics of the annual national conference for 2013, 2014, 2015 Graduate Student Member, LRAN New Scholars Working Group Summer 2012 Summer 2014 Undergraduate Committee, Department of Sociology, University of Illinois at Chicago Graduate Student member Fall 2012-present Faculty and grad students working to improve resources, support, and instruction for Sociology undergraduate students. American Sociological Association (ASA) Graduate Student member Midwest Sociological Society (MSS) Graduate Student Member 2012 - present 2011 present 14 th Annual Chicago Ethnography Conference, Hosted at UIC on April 14, 2012 Member of Planning Committee and Head of the Speaker and Discussant Committee Fall 2011 Spring 2012 Contacted speakers and discussants, and coordinated efforts by students on the Speaker and Discussant committee. ACADEMIC PRESENTATIONS: Labor Research and Action Network (LRAN) Annual Conference Washington, D.C. Organizer and Moderator for panel entitled The Criminal Justice System and Workers Rights June 16, 2015 Convened the executive directors of two Chicago based worker centers Leone Bicchieri and DeAngelo Bester, as well as Carmen Berkley, Director of Civil, Human and Women s Rights AFL-CIO, and Darrin Spann, Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, AFSCME Council 13 for a panel discussion on issues of racism, mass incarceration and deportation, and systematic violence and the relationship with the labor movement. The panel was part of the Advancing Worker Rights in a Changing Economy panel track of this annual conference. Panelist for workshop entitled Research by New Scholars June 18, 2013 Presented preliminary data from my dissertation research. Real Talk: A Brownbag Series (Sponsored by: UIC Campus Advocacy Network, Latin American & Latino Studies Program, and the Movement Against Sexual Violence). Invited Speaker March 5, 2015 Presented preliminary findings from my dissertation research in a talked entitled The Violence of Low-Wage Temporary Staffing Work. Cook - 3
American Sociological Association (ASA) annual meeting Presenter upcoming August 2015 Will present my dissertation research in a paper entitled Lord have mercy, sometimes feel I have no rights: worker center members fight for inclusion in the Section on Race, Gender and Class Roundtable. San Francisco, CA Presenter August 19, 2014 Presented my paper entitled Worker Centers and the Struggle for Full Citizenship for the 2014 American Sociological Association s (ASA) Latina/o Section roundtable session. Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) annual meeting Presenter upcoming August 2015 Will present my dissertation research in a paper called Fighting for the whole person: worker center members organizing for full rights in the CRITICAL DIALOGUE: Work, school, and inequality for people of color session. San Francisco, CA Presenter August 16, 2014 Presented my paper entitled Contesting Exclusion: Worker Centers as Sites for Marginalized Workers to Claim Full Citizenship Rights for the Community-Based Social Justice Activism and Education paper session. University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Sociology Colloquium Series Panel member in departmental professionalization colloquium series Completing your Dissertation Start to Finish panel for fellow graduate students October 15, 2014 Preliminary Exam Preparation and Strategies panel for fellow graduate students April 9, 2014 Presenter in the departmental colloquium series Participated in a panel for a colloquium originally titled Results from the 2010 CAS Survey on Immigration and Immigrants in Suburban Chicago Part II where we discussed our experiences collecting qualitative and survey data in the CAS project. January 19, 2011 Presented my Master Paper "No Más Maltrato: Immigrant Labor Activism in Lake County in the colloquium "New Tensions in an Old Gateway: Ethnographic Explorations of Immigration in the Chicago Suburbs." December 1, 2010 16 th Annual Chicago Ethnography Conference hosted at Northwestern University Evanston, IL Presenter March 15, 2014 Presented my preliminary dissertation research data Worker Centers and the Struggle for Full Citizenship for Marginalized Workers on the Citizenship, Identity, and Immigration Panel 14 th Annual Chicago Ethnography Conference, Hosted at UIC on April 14, 2012 Presenter April 14, 2012 Presented my MA research What we ask for is justice! : Immigrant Worker Center Activism in a Suburban New Immigrant Destination on the Social Movements Panel. Annual Meeting of the Midwest Sociological Society (MSS) Presenter March 28, 2013 Presented findings from my Master s paper with additional analysis from my dissertation proposal in a formal paper session entitled Good Jobs, Bad Jobs, and No Jobs: The Changing U.S. Labor Market. Minneapolis, MN Presenter March 31, 2012 Conducted a presentation, based on off findings in Masters Paper, entitled Vulnerable Isolation: Immigrant Worker Experiences and Activism in Chicago Suburban New Immigrant Destinations as part of a formal paper session entitled Recent Immigrants and Labor Processes: Perspectives from American Small Towns Organizer and Presenter March 29, 2012 Organized a formal paper session Latinizing Suburbia: Immigrants Transforming the Face of Midwest Towns in which I presented my Masters Paper What We Ask for Is Justice! Immigrant Worker Center Activism in a Suburban New Immigrant Destination St. Louis, MO Cook - 4
Presenter March 26, 2011 Presented an early draft of my Masters Paper. My presentation was entitled, Immigrant Workers, Labor Resources, and Activism in Chicago Suburbs, and was part of a UIC CAS organized panel entitled New Immigrant Destinations in the Chicagoland Area. NON ACADEMIC WORK AND SERVICE EXPERIENCE: Workers Center for Racial Justice Volunteer Chicago Workers Collaborative Volunteer Chicago Jobs with Justice (JWJ) Steering Committee member, Representing the GEO August 2013-present Spring 2013-present Winter 2013-present UIC Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), IFT-AFT Local 6297 Outreach Chair on Steering Committee May 2012- present Member Activist and Sociology Department Steward August 2009 present Organizing Chair on Steering Committee August 2009 May 2011 Logan Square Neighborhood Association Volunteer Fall 2011 Fall 2013 Involved in the Immigration Committee, Assist people in filling out paperwork in LSNA sponsored in citizenship and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) workshops, and help with other organizational needs when available UNITE HERE Nationwide; Based out of NY, NY Union Organizer June 2006 May 2009 Managed the strategic planning, administrative, and training duties of a political Persuasion/Get Out The Vote (GOTV) program in the 2008 presidential election, leading 1 staff person and between 11-21 union members during the campaign Strategically planned and implemented campaign goals and tactics to organize service workers to form a union, networking with local members, unions, and allies to engage with workers and assist in the campaign Organized and facilitated meetings for new union members pertaining to organizing their union, their rights in the workplace, building workplace solidarity, negotiating and enforcing their collective bargaining agreements Chicago Freedom School Volunteer January 2009 April 2009 Assisted social justice related trainings and teach ins, and performed office related tasks such as organizational mailings Apoyotrabajador/Migrant Worker Solidarity Publicity Chair, Organizer August 2005 June 2006 Produced press releases and assisted in organizing logistics for the local Spring 2006 Jobs with Justice Student Labor Week of Action, April 10 th National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice, May 1 st Day of Action for Immigrant Reform, and two community forums on immigration Women s Transitional Care Services (WTCS; a domestic violence agency and shelter) Board Member, Policy Committee Summer 2003 June 2006 Volunteer Advocate Spring 2002 June 2006 Cook - 5