B. Recruitment Letter

Appendix B

Recruitment Letter

S U SA N G E SH A Y

1502 East 80th Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46240 | 317-514-1017 | sgeshay@centerpointcounseling.org January 28, 2021 Dear Recipient Your name was given to me by [----------]. I am writing to ask for your help with a project I am doing. I am working on my PhD in clinical social work and my dissertation research is on the Animal Rights Activist. My name is Susan Geshay and I am a PhD candidate at the Institute for Clinical Social Work (ICSW) in Chicago, Illinois. I am conducting research on the Animal Rights Activist with particular interest in the Farm Animal Rights Activist. I am looking for individuals who are selfdescribed animal rights activist who have made significant changes in their diet, lifestyle, and social venues as a result of becoming an Animal Rights Activist. The purpose of this research is to gain an in depth understanding of the Animal Rights Activist. The aim is to locate the transformative moment or identifying the processes that brought to consciousness that animals should be treated differently than what is acceptable to mainstream culture. I am interested in what brought the Animal Rights Activist to this way of identifying with the (non-human) animal in a society that often sees the animal in a much different light. Interest lies in how this alternative way of seeing the animal is cultivated and why they consider the (nonhuman) animal worthy of their time and advocacy. There will be two in-person or zoom interviews that will be scheduled at a convenient time and location. Complete confidentiality will be maintained at all times, protecting the activists’ identities in all data and reports. I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Indianapolis, Indiana. I am conducting this research for my doctoral dissertation at ICSW and my proposed research has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board. I hope you will take this opportunity to pass along my information to activists’ who may be interested in participating in this study. I can be reached at 317-514-1017 or sgeshay@centerpointcounseling.org to learn more about the study. Sincerely, Susan Geshay