Degrees: PHD, 2007, Pennsylvania St Univ Univ Park; MPHIL, 2000, Univ Oslo; BA, 1996, Univ Oslo

Bio:

Dr. Jensen received her Ph.D. in Geography from the Pennsylvania State University in 2007. She has an M.Phil. degree and a Bachelor’s degree in Human Geography from the University of Oslo (Norway). Before she started her doctoral studies at Penn State she worked for the immigration authorities in Norway and for a non-governmental organization helping orphan children in Bangladesh get an education. She has conducted research in Bangladesh intermittently for the last fifteen years, mainly focusing on the lived experiences of children from low- income households. Her doctoral research focused on child domestic workers from poor, rural families who work for wealthier families in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In particular she explored the cultural context of the children's relationship with employers and the prospects for increasing their quality of life through access to public and semi-public spaces where they can develop their social network and seek help in case of neglect and abuse. One of Dr. Jensen’s more recent research projects focuses on the importance of place in the process of identity formation among young people with South Asian parents, through an analysis of Oslo as a multicultural city. She has published her work on pros and cons of a multicultural upbringing as perceived by young people belonging to the South Asian diaspora in Oslo and the New York metropolitan area.

Dr. Jensen teaches human geography, cultural geography, world regional geography, geography of South Asia, geographic methodology, and a seminar on child labor.

Dr. Jensen recently founded Mu Kappa, the Hofstra chapter of Gamma Theta Upsilon, the international geographic honor society. As the President of Mu Kappa, she conducted the initiation and induction ceremony on May 2, 2012.