Shravya Sompalli is a graduate of Brown University with an ScB in computer science and ethnic studies. While a researcher in the Human Trafficking Research Cluster at the Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, she worked closely with the grassroots collective Red Canary Song to visualize and communicate changes over the past two decades in the policing of Asian massage work – commonly portrayed as synonymous with human trafficking – in New York. Partly building on this work, Shravya’s senior thesis investigated the integration of technological tools and discourses surrounding the potential of technology in the work of state and corporate anti-trafficking actors while considering the limitations of technological initiatives from the perspective of grassroots organizations.
She also worked in the Sociotechnical Systems and Wellbeing Research Lab (SWRL) at Brown, using mixed computational and qualitative methods to facilitate a greater understanding of how posters on online forums sought help on reproductive health-related concerns in 2024. After graduating, Shravya conducted data and policy work in support of Cook County’s Human Rights Ordinance as an applied data fellow in the county’s Department of Human Rights and Ethics.
Given the growing interest of many international anti-trafficking actors in the potential of interventional technology, Shravya’s Fulbright-Nehru project is examining how anti-trafficking NGOs in Bengaluru are using technology in their victim identification and empowerment initiatives. This project seeks to build an understanding of the perceptions of NGO employees on the efficacy and usability of technological tools. It also aims to find out how users identify and balance potential privacy and security concerns with the adoption of such tools.