Audrey Lumley-Sapanski, PhD, joined CMU in August 2023 from the University of Nottingham’s Rights Lab. There she studied the risks of human trafficking and exploitation faced by migrants both along the Central Mediterranean Route and in the United Kingdom. Lumley-Sapanski primarily focuses on the differential effects of governance structures and policies on the individual lives of migrants. Her research is guided by three broad, overarching questions:
1) Where in their migratory journeys do migrants face ‘points of inflection’ or risks to exploitation and why?
2) How do securitization policies and governance strategies impact the safety of migrants during migration?
3) How does the differential allocation of rights and privileges based on migratory status within a society create risks of exploitation and marginalization?
This research focus stems from a background in direct service as a practitioner at a refugee resettlement agency in Chicago. Lumley-Sapanski's work is both academic and policy-facing and has been funded by the International Organization for Migration, the International Labor Organization, the modern Slavery Policy and Evaluation Centre, and the United Kingdom’s Research Innovation fund, amongst others.
Lumley-Sapanski was a New York City Teaching Fellow in Social Studies and received her master's through that program. She taught high school social studies, economics and governance and in the summers she led students on study abroad trips to Mexico and South Africa through the program Experiment in International Living. These experiences were formative for Lumley-Sapanski and through them, she learned how to apply creative and participatory approaches in the classroom. Subsequently, she has taught methods and core coursework at the graduate and undergraduate levels in Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. This includes coursework in human geography, urban studies, and research methods.
At CMU Lumley-Sapanski is excited to be teaching human geography, world regional geography, GIS for social scientists, and introduction to cartography. She looks forward to collaborating with students interested in spatial inequalities, migration and/or trafficking topics.
Audrey Lumley-Sapanski's Curriculum Vitae
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
● Dotsey, S., Lumley-Sapanski, A., and Ambrosini, M. (2023) COVID-19 & precarious lifeworlds of (in)visible migrants’ care workforce. IJERPH 20(12): 6108.
● Lumley-Sapanski, A., Schwarz, K. and Valverde-Cano, A. Babiker, MA, Crowther, M., Death, E., Ditcham, K., Eltayeb, AR, Jones, MEK, Miley, S., & Mir, MP (2023) Exacerbating Pre‑Existing Vulnerabilities: an Analysis of the Effects of the COVID‑19 Pandemic on Human Trafficking in Sudan. Human Rights Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-023-00683-7
● Lumley-Sapanski, A. and Dotsey, S. (2022). ‘Paradoxical migrant allyship: the adoption of a disciplinary model of ‘compulsory integration’ for asylum seekers in Italy.’ Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. DOI: 10.1080/1369183X.2022.2042221
● Lumley-Sapanski, A. (2022). “It will kill your dreams, your goals, your everything”—Humanitarian migrants, governance through containment and the Italian accommodation system. Political Geography, 94, 102573.
● Lumley-Sapanski, A., Schwarz, K., Valverde Cano, A. (2021). The Khartoum Process and human trafficking. Forced Migration Review, 68: pp. 46-48.
● Dotsey, S. and Lumley-Sapanski, A. (2021). Temporality, refugees, and housing: the effects of temporary assistance on refugee housing outcomes in Italy. Cities, (111), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.103100
● Lumley-Sapanski, A. (2020). Explaining contemporary patterns of residential mobility: Insights from resettled refugees in Chicago. Geoforum (116), p. 1-11.
● Lumley-Sapanski, A. (2019). The Survival Job Trap: Explaining Refugee Employment Outcomes in Chicago and the Contributing Factors. Journal of Refugee Studies, https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fez092
● Lumley-Sapanski, A., & Callahan, N. J. (2019). Mutual Benefit: How Vocational Training Programs Utilize Employer Engagement and Refugee Strengths to Facilitate Integration. Social Sciences, 8(5), 145.
● Lumley-Sapanski, A. and Fowler, C. S. (2017). “Planning Dissonance” and the Bases for Stably Diverse Neighborhoods: The Case of South Seattle. City & Community, 16: 86–115.
Chapters in Edited Volumes
● Lumley-Sapanski, A & Schwarz, K. (2022). ‘Increased vulnerability to human trafficking of migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic in the IGAD-North Africa region.’ In The COVID-19 impacts of COVID-19 on migration and migrants from a gender perspective, Chap. 10. International Organization for Migration. Available https://publications.iom.int/books/impacts-covid-19-migration-and-migrants-gender-perspective
● Valverde Cano, A., Schwarz, K., & Lumley Sapanski, A. (2022) Análisis de los factores de vulnerabilidad en los países de origen de las (presuntas) victimas de esclavitud moderna en Reino Unido. Retos del Estado de Derecho en materia de inmigración y terrorismo. (Eds) Ignacio Álvarez Arcá, Elena Avilés Hernández; Marta Fernández Cabrera (dir.), Carmen Rocío Fernández Díaz (dir.), págs. 429-456
● Lumley-Sapanski, A. (2018). “Refugee Resettlement’s Divergent Outcomes: The Role of the Social Network in Housing Type and Location.” In The Crux of Refugee Resettlement: Rebuilding Social Networks. Nelson, A., Willems, R. and Roedlach, A. (Eds.).
Policy Briefings
● Garbers, K, Lumley-Sapanski, A and Duggan G. (2022) Where will I live? Understanding how hosting could fit within current accommodation options for survivors of modern slavery. https://www.hopeathome.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Where-will-I-live-Report-V3-Final.pdf
● Garbers, K., Lumley-Sapanski, A and Brown, R. (2023) ‘Why do people host, why does hosting work and what can make hosting better?’ An Evaluation of the Homes for Ukraine Hosting Scheme.
● Lumley-Sapanski, A. et al (2021). ‘The Impacts of COVID-19 on Human Trafficking in Sudan: A case study of a pandemic in transition’ available at https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/beacons-of-excellence/rights-lab/resources/reports-and-briefings/2021/may/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-human-trafficking-in-sudan.pdf
● Lumley-Sapanski, A., Schwarz, K. and Valverde Cano, A. (March 2021). ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Modern Slavery in Sudan: Emerging Findings briefing,’ available https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/beacons-of-excellence/rights-lab/resources/reports-and-briefings/2021/march/emerging-findings-sudan.pdf
Submissions to international courts, authoritative bodies, and other inquiries
● Lumley-Sapanski, A, Garbers, K, Brotherton, V. and Schwarz, K (2023) Trafficking in persons and protection of refugees, stateless persons and internally displaced persons (IDPs), submission to the Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, United Nations Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights
● Katarina Schwarz et al., ‘The Role of Organised Criminal Groups with Regard to Contemporary Forms of Slavery’, submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences (16 April 2021). https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Slavery/SRSlavery/Pages/cfi-role-organised-criminal-groups-slavery.aspx
● Lumley-Sapanski, A., Seymour, E., and Schwarz, K. ‘The Nexus between Forced Displacement and Contemporary Forms of Slavery’, submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences (15 March 2021). https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Slavery/SRSlavery/Pages/ReportHRC48.aspx