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I earned my PhD in Sociology from York University in 2002 and joined the Department of Sociology at Wilfrid Laurier University that same year. Since then, I have been an active member of the department, serving two terms as Chair (2014–2017 and 2023–2025) and multiple terms as Undergraduate Advisor (2012–2014 and currently, 2025–2026).
My teaching experience spans all levels of the Sociology program, including large introductory courses (SY101 and SY103), upper-year seminars, and graduate courses.
Beyond Sociology, I contributed to the development of the North American Studies Program at Laurier as a co-founding team member and served as Acting Program Coordinator in Winter 2008. My key contributions to NASP include co-leading two North American Mobility Programs and fostering cross-border partnerships.
I have also served as Co-Vice President of the Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS) from 2022 to 2025 and currently hold the role of Managing Editor for the Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CJLAC). I am a past board member of the Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada (2020–2025), and currently a board member of CALACS (2019–present), and the International Migration Research Centre (IMRC) (2019–present).
My research examines the intersection of social policy, gender, and political practices in Mexico and North America, with a focus on how policy frameworks shape citizenship, social regulation, and governance. I have conducted extensive qualitative research on Mexican social policy, particularly antipoverty programs, in both urban and rural contexts. My earlier work provides a critical gendered analysis of poverty reduction strategies, highlighting their implications for social regulation and citizenship. This research demonstrates how conditional cash transfer programs—hallmarks of global poverty alleviation trends—can foster political clientelism at regional and municipal levels, revealing mechanisms within social policy that sustain political patronage. I have also explored the role of social policy and semi-clientelism as strategies to mitigate violence in Mexico City.
My SSHRC-funded project, Safe Cities, Urban Politics and Social Policy in North America, examined the intersection of urban social policy, public space, and security. This work focused on strategies designed to address growing socio-spatial inequality and poverty while enhancing safety and security in cities.
My research has also shifted towards examining how conservative politics and populism have reshaped governance in Toronto and Ontario, with particular attention to their intersection with education policy.
Recently, I have returned to social policy, but with a focus on gender mainstreaming and childcare policy, incorporating comparative analyses of childcare frameworks in Canada and Mexico.
Merit Award, Faculty of Arts, Wilfrid Laurier University (2017)
Merit Award, Faculty of Arts, Wilfrid Laurier University (2020)
Merit Award, Faculty of Arts, Wilfrid Laurier University (2023)
Merit Award, Faculty of Arts, Wilfrid Laurier University (2025)
Donald F. Morgenson Award for Excellence in Internationalization (2025)
When not on sabbatical, I am willing to supervise or sit on the committees of graduate students in the areas of political sociology, gender and development, and social policy and security.
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Luccisano, L., B. Mehta and K. Spooner. “Building Bridges: Canadian Studies Across Borders.” Canada Watch, Robarts Center, Spring 2025
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Wigle, Jill, Laura Macdonald, Lucy Luccisano and Paula Maurutto, “Struggling over City-making: The Community Program for Neighborhood Improvement in Mexico City” Journal of Urban Affairs, Open Access, September, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2023.2250025
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Luccisano, L and P. Maurutto, "Neoliberal Populism in Ontario: Premier Doug Ford’s Strategic Politics", NORTEAMÉRICA, Year 18, number 1, 405-433 Jan to June 2023 https://doi.org/10.22201/cisan.24487228e.2023.1.624
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Luccisano, L & L. Macdonald “Childcare and Foreign Policy in Canada and Mexico: The Politics and Practices of Gender Mainstreaming” México y Canadá: 80 años tendiendo puentes Graciela Martínez-Zalce (ed), (Mexico City, La Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Y el Centro de Investigaciones Sobre América Del Norte, 2025), pp 180-203.
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Luccisano, L. & P. Maurutto “Neoliberalismo y políticas conservadoras en Toronto” Canadá Y Sus Paradojas En El Siglo XXI: Tomo II in Graciela Martínez-Zalce and Camelia Tigau (ed), (Mexico City, La Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Y el Centro de Investigaciones Sobre América Del Norte, 2022), pp 127-160
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Luccisano, L. & L. Macdonald. “Guns and Butter: Social Policy, Semi-Clientelism and Efforts to Reduce Violence in Mexico”, in Tina Hilgers and Laura Macdonald (eds), Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean: Subnational Structures, Institutions, and Clientelism, (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2016).
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Luccisano, L. & L. Macdonald, “The impact of the global financial crisis on Mexican social policy”, in Stephen McBride, Rianne Mahon and Gerard Boychuk (eds), After ’08 Social Policy and the Global Financial Crisis, (University of British Columbia Press, 2015), pp. 181-196.
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Luccisano, L. & L. Macdonald, “Mexico and Social Protection by the Federal Government and the Federal District: Obstacles and Openings to a Social Protection Floor” Global Social Policy, 2014, (3).
Undergraduate Courses:
- SY101: Introduction to Sociology I: Critical Foundations
- SY103: Introduction to Sociology II: Exploring Social Life
- SY452I: Welfare State and Citizenship
- SY405: Sociology of Poverty
- SY338: Women & Development
Graduate Courses:
- SY612: Welfare State and Citizenship
- SY614: Inequality, Migration and Diversity
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L. Luccisano & Kevin Spooner, U.S State Department FY19 Study Abroad Engagement Grant, 2019-2024
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L. Luccisano & Kevin Spooner, 100,000 Strong in the Americas: The 4th Santander Innovation Fund in Study Abroad, 2018-2019
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L. Luccisano, & P. Maurutto, L. Macdonald, Jill Wigle. SSHRC Insight Development Grant, June 2016
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L. Luccisano, Mitacs Globalink Research Award, February 2015
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L. Luccisano & Kevin Spooner, Program for North American Mobility in Higher Education, Canadian Federal Government, October 2010 to October 2014
Contact Info:
Office location: DAWB 5-130
Office hours:
Tuesday: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM via Zoom, or by appointment
Languages spoken: English, Spanish, Italian and knowledge of French