Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Faculty Fellow

Jennifer Spinney is an assistant professor in York University's Disaster and Emergency Management program. She is a trained as a sociocultural anthropologist, with a focus on raising critical awareness regarding the social and human dimensions of disaster and disaster risk management.
In her research, Jennifer studies the various connections between groups of people living and working at the intersections of environment and society. She takes a holistic and comparative approach, and draws on qualitative research methods to examine how people make meaning, assess and communicate risk, engage in protective action decision making, and recover from disaster and emergency situations, such as tornadoes and flooding.
Jennifer’s work also focuses on interaction and language in use within and across groups to learn how virtual, face-to-face and individual-environmental encounters shape understanding, influence disaster response, and create differing experiences with recovery following disastrous events.
Research keywords:
Risk perception; sense-making; interaction; policy and governance; discourse; social recovery; early warning and preparedness
Themes | Global Health & Humanitarianism |
Status | Active |
Related Work |
N/A
|
Updates |
You may also be interested in...
Recap – Humanitarian Development Origins and Interventions in the Global South
On Wednesday, November 16, 2023, the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research welcomed Dr. Agnieszka Sobocinska (King’s College London) to discuss the themes from her most recent book, Saving the World? Western volunteers and the ...Read more about this Post
Recap – Beyond Divestment: Toxic Legacies of the Oil and Gas Industry from the Niger Delta to North America, with Anna Zalik and Isaac Osuoka
On November 26, 2025, Dahdaleh Institute Faculty Fellow Anna Zalik and Isaac Osuoka, Coordinator at Social Action International, delivered a presentation examining the toxic legacies of the oil and gas industry. Their discussion drew upon ...Read more about this Post
2022-2023 Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholarships Awarded to Eight Outstanding Scholars
The Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research is delighted to announce and congratulate the recipients of the 2022-2023 Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholarships. DI associate director and committee Chair, Mary Wiktorowicz, says, “We are impressed ...Read more about this Post
