The Research Team - Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre

Lindsey Fair, Project Lead

Lindsey has been teaching at St. Lawrence College for just over 10 years. She has also taught at other Ontario colleges and universities including Fleming College, Loyalist College, the Royal Military College of Canada, and Queen's University. Lindsey's area of focus is on new media, marketing and advertising. She has a passion for teaching and loves being in the classroom where she can learn from students and teach them what she has learned in the world of business.

Aside from teaching, Lindsey works as a Web Marketing and Social Media Specialist where she educates clients in areas such as web marketing, search engine optimization, and social media. You can catch Lindsey in one of her frequent workshops or on campus.

Lindsey is online! Connect with her on LinkedIn, Twitter, or by email!

Ashley Pitcher, Research Assistant

Ashley is a graduate of St. Lawrence College & Laurentian Bachelor of Business Administration degree program. After graduating from the BBA program in 2010, she took a short contract with Hotel Dieu Hospital in the Finance department. Since the contract has ended, she has taken a part-time position as a Unit Clerk in the Urgent Care Centre. Ashley also works as an Administrative Assistant at St. Lawrence College in the Applied Research Department. 

Ashley has a passion for learning and she intends to further her education in order to build her skills and experience. Ashley is very organized and systematic in her approach. Even with working two jobs Ashley still finds time to get outdoors, on any given day you will find her cycling around Kingston or going for a run. Other hobbies include reading, writing and music.

Carlye Oda, Research Assistant

Carlye is a Bachelor of Business Administration student who is graduating in December 2013. She hopes to establish her career in the Human Resource and Learning and Development sectors and to one day own and operate a Conflict Resolution Consulting Firm. Originally from Dundas Ontario, Carlye has a passion for musical instruments and animals. She can play almost any instrument and owns two ferrets, Sampson and Roxie, and a dog named Layla (after the Eric Clapton song).

Joshua Hartson, Research Assistant 

While enrolled in the Advertising and Integrated Marketing Communications program at St. Lawrence College, Joshua expressed his creative flare as an intern at 14 Theories Inc. Joshua has a widespread educational background and has developed considerable knowledge and expertise on current and new trends in social media. His thinking is informed by extensive dialogue with clients as well as independent research on website design. He has a drive for success and a passion for social media. Joshua manages multiple social media accounts and has been successful in engaging the community. Because of his eagerness to learn, Josh is balancing numerous digital marketing positions including a Digital Content Strategist at 14 Theories Inc., a Marketing Strategist at Weehooey IT Services, and a Social Media Specialist at the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce.

Josh is very social, and when time permits, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends. To get in touch with Josh, follow him on Twitter, friend him on Facebook, or connect with him on LinkedIn.

A framework for transforming abeyant communities at Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre through digital media - Project Overview

Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre has been in operation for nearly 20 years. The mandate of the facility is to help all injured and orphaned wildlife (including mammals, birds, and some reptiles/amphibians) and release them back into the wild. Sandy Pines runs an internship program and educational outreach to teach youth about local Ontario wildlife, and how to support and nurture our natural areas for the future. The younger community is an important market for Sandy Pines but could be categorized easily as abeyant. Creating a two-way dialogue with this group is imperative for the longterm longevity of charitable organizations (Briones, Kuch, Liu, & Jin, 2011).

Sandy Pines relies heavily on volunteers and charitable donations (they receive no government funding). As a non-profit/charitable organization, Sandy Pines experiences the usual challenges of funding, volunteer management , abeyant communities and continuously meeting their mandate on a shoestring. Creating awareness of the organization is only one-step towards the longevity of Sandy Pines. Awareness must be turned into action. Action can be measured through changes in behaviour, increased donations, or volunteer registrations. Utilizing social and digital media in a way that inspires action versus simple engagement isn't always intuitive for charities (Kanter, 2010).

Building upon Briones' research that highlights the necessity of digital media for public relations in the non-profit sector (2011), this research project will address not the should it be done, but rather the strategies in which it should be done. Digital media has made enormous strides since the first discussions in the early 1970's, in fact as Lee lists it has contributed to the decrease in infant mortality, a decrease in littering and the persuasion of pet owners to 'poop and scoop' (2011). Large, multinational charities are outpacing the private sector in their digital media, in fact 89% are using some of form of digital media (Barnes & Mattson, 2008). The question is whether a local, small charity can have the same profound positive changes in a abeyant community.

Sandy Pines needs a digital assessment, a short-term implemented strategy and conclusions to draw from that will enable the organization to concentrate their efforts on the digital media that have the greatest opportunity for impact and action.

The final analysis will provide insights into the following:

• Percentage of digital engaged members that act (volunteer, donate or change their behaviour)
• Timeline from engagement to action per person
• Profile of who the typical digital community member that acts is compared to one that doesn’t act 
• What digital media channels are most likely to engage community members that act 
• A digital media strategy to implement as a result of the analysis 
• Evaluation (phase 2)