Our
Story
Born during the pandemic out of an immediate need to provide internships for CSU graduating seniors, the CRI has gone through several iterations since May 2020.
The CRI is run by Drs. Kristen Donnelly and Erin Hinson. Dr. Donnelly reconnected with Charleston Southern University in 2015 through her father Roger Nielsen (Class of 1974) and a renewed commitment to serve both on campus and throughout the Lowcountry.
After creating the CRI on the back of a napkin over two years ago, the institute has grown from strength to strength, including a partnership with the Hans A. Nielsen College of Business, and the development and delivery of our generational training.
Meet The Good Doctors
We are corporate trainers that focus on employee engagement and retention with approaches and insights that get to the root of discontent, poor morale, and miscommunication, the key factors in employee turnover.
We are both educators with social science PhDs. We have lived and studied around the United States and around the world, exposing us to a beautiful range of identities, experiences, and worldviews. As a company, we’ve been around since 2016, but we’ve been unofficial advocates for understanding our whole adult lives. We have a history of being obnoxiously curious - which means we have always been interested in how and why people do what they do.
We have presented to and worked with a diverse range of clients - from day care workers to chemical manufacturers, from the Big South Athletic Conference to international non profits. No matter the industry, no matter the culture, if you employ humans, we know we can help.
Ethics Statement
Abbey Research follows the social science ethical bylaws of the American Sociological Association. Research is only conducted via informed consent. For surveys, this means anonymous participation and a statement of intent on behalf of the researchers. For interviews, consent forms are provided and collected. Any participant may withdraw their participation at any time. The researchers are bound to confidentiality until it breeches harm to self or others, and then the respondent is consulted before confidentiality is breached. Original, raw data belongs exclusively to Abbey Research and will not be shared with any other parties.
For any further questions regarding ethics, please contact the President of Abbey Research, Dr. Kristen Donnelly at kdonnelly@abbey-research.com.
Abbey Research Spotlight
The Good Doctors started Abbey Research in 2015 and now travel the world as corporate trainers - spreading their framework of empathy through their YouTube channel, podcast, and online and in-person trainings! Their work running the CRI is a natural extension of their belief in the necessity of empathy and their passion for teaching and mentoring the next generation of leaders.