About

Elizabeth A BennettElizabeth Bennett, PhD, is the Joseph M. Ha Associate Professor of International Affairs and Director of Political Economy at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. She is on research sabbatical for the 2021-22 academic year, currently in residence in Cambridge, MA, where she is a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Carr Center for Human Rights Policy.

Bennett is internationally recognized for her expertise on labor exploitation in globalized supply chains and serves on the Academic Advisory Council to the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards. Currently, she is working on a book about the ways in which voluntary sustainability certifications and fair trade labels have both supported and challenged living wages, employee ownership, and profit-sharing.

Bennett is also a Fellow at the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, where her work is supported by a 2021-22 J. Robert Beyster Fellowship from the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor. This Businesswire article introduces the Institute’s scholars, who work from institutions in Canada, France, Lithuania, Mexico, Slovenia, the UK, and the U.S, and describes their research on equity and profit sharing.

Bennett  holds a PhD in Political Science from Brown University and a MALD (Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy) focused on political economy and development from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. She completed her dissertation in residence as a Research Associate at the Center for Fair and Alternative Trade (CFAT) at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Her publications include a book (The Civic Imagination: Making a Difference in American Political Life), co-edited volume (The Handbook of Research on Fair Trade with Laura T. Raynolds), and numerous invited book chapters and refereed journal articles. She is currently working on ethical issues in cannabis (marijuana) supply chains, sustainability certifications, fair trade, workers’ rights, income inequality, globalized supply chains, and textile manufacturing. As an interdisciplinary scholar, her research engages international relations, political economy, public policy, sociology, social movement studies, consumer culture, business management, and sustainable development.

Bennett is at times available for keynotes, guest lectures, consulting, short-term workshops, and blog/magazine articles. She (occasionally) helps save trees.

Illustrations of public engagement:

Papers by Dr. Bennett introducing the topics she studies:

Shorter essays (e.g., magazine articles and blog posts) for a general audience:

Public lectures available to stream: 

Please email directly to inquire about availability for speaking engagements or consulting services (ElizabethBennett@lclark.edu).