RGC Centre for the Advancement of Best Practices: Staff Biographies
Jamie Wiebe, Ph.D., Director
Dr. Wiebe has recently re-joined the Responsible Gambling Council as Director of the RGC Centre for the Advancement of Best Practices. Her background includes owner and principal of Factz Research Inc. and research positions with the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba, Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission and the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse. Jamie has collaborated on a wide variety of responsible and problem gambling topics. Projects include youth, general population and older adult prevalence studies, longitudinal research following individuals with gambling problems, evaluation of prevention and treatment initiatives, examination of Internet gambling regulations, the development of an instrument to measure risky gambling among youth, and examination of best practices in responsible gambling. In her role as Director, Dr. Wiebe provides strategic direction for the Centre and guides the design, analysis and interpretation of projects.
Phil Mun, Ph.D., Senior Researcher and Statistician
Dr. Mun joined RGC in January, 2004 and has been conducting gambling-related research for over 10 years. His hands-on experience as Senior Researcher and Statistician includes literature reviews, research design, data collection, statistical analysis, and report preparation for numerous research projects (e.g., gambling and problem gambling prevalence; older adults and youth gambling; gambling attitudes and perceptions; EGMs and problem gambling; best practices in self-exclusion; social marketing evaluations). Dr. Mun has also been integral to designing and conducting evaluations for various RGC responsible gambling initiatives, including awareness and education campaigns, the M.A.R.G.I. information kiosk, and gaming staff training programs.
Nadine Kauffman, MA, Manager of Information Services
Nadine joined RGC in January, 2004. As Manager of Information Services, Nadine is responsible for overseeing the Council’s information resources, including the Canadian Gambling Digest, the Canadian Inventory of Responsible Gambling Initiatives, and the Organization and Management of Gambling in Canada. She also supervises the content and delivery of RGC’s information services (e.g., Newscan, Headlines), and responds to information requests received by the Council via its social marketing campaigns and InfoSource. Before joining RGC, Nadine spent several years designing and conducting research studies on the determinants of unhealthy eating behavior.
Christina Whelan, MSC, Research Coordinator
Christina joined RGC in February, 2006. In her role as Research Coordinator, Christina organizes the day-to-day activities of various RGC research projects (e.g., M.A.R.G.I. kiosk evaluation; best practices in self-exclusion; pre-commitment and player cards). She also conducts focus groups for research studies, assists with the evaluation of RGC’s prevention programs (e.g., Know the Score, Within Limits), gives presentations on responsible gambling at colleges and universities (e.g., Ryerson, Niagara College), and helped to develop the Responsible Gambling Index.
Cynthia Lucar, MPPA, Research and Policy Assistant
Cynthia joined RGC in May, 2008. As Research and Policy Assistant, Cynthia provides policy research, analysis, and evaluation for various RGC initiatives (e.g., Friend4friends social marketing campaign; M.A.R.G.I. information kiosk; Responsible Gaming Resource Centre). She was also involved in the Centre’s research study on seniors’ experiences with gambling, as well as the pre-commitment and player cards study. In addition, she assisted with the development of the Responsible Gambling Index. Before joining RGC, Cynthia gained extensive specialized training in policy analysis. She also gained several years of experience in project management, program development and evaluation, proposal design, and report preparation.
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