Mandi Baker, PhD

Biography

Dr. Baker completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo in the Dept. of Leisure Studies and Recreation Management with a specialty in Therapeutic Recreation. She went on to work in a youth cancer charity before returning to her studies. She completed her doctoral dissertation at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. During this time, she taught in the department of Tourism, Sport and Leisure Management and managed a 240-bed catered residence as Head of College. Mandi has taught across a range of leisure related courses including sociology, DEI, hospitality, leisure marketing, foundational studies and research methods (primarily qualitative).

Baker's work explores everyday work experiences through sociological concepts to offer fresh insights to ethical and sustainable leadership and education. More recently, her work has delved in to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) practices within outdoor recreation as well as gender in family leisure studies. Mandi works extensively with summer camp providers and industry decision makers. She is a member of the Research and Evaluation Committee for the American Camps Association and the Governing Board for Outward Bound Vietnam. She co-hosts a podcast, The Pudding, about camp research and is a regular speaker for industry conferences and trainings. Mandi serves on the Editorial Boards of the World Leisure Journal and Journal of Youth Development.

Education

  • PhD, Leisure, Sport and Tourism, Griffith University
  • BA Hons, Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo
     

Research Summary

Dr. Baker's research explores the emotional demands (emotion work), people skills (Affective Abilities) required, and organizational contexts (power-relations) in people-centric service work. She explores these concepts in organized outdoor experiences, youth & community development, recreation, and leisure contexts, and, progressively, in health service provision including clinical practice.

Recent Publications

Baker, M. & Carr, N. (Eds.) (2025). Inclusion and Equity in Outdoor Leisure: Whose Body Belongs? CABI Publishing.

Baker, M. & Carr, N. (2025). Introduction. Inclusion and Equity in Outdoor Leisure – Whose Body Belongs? Oxfordshire, UK: CABI Publishing, 1- 14.

Stanley, P. & Baker, M. (2025). Fat, Functional and Fabulous Bodies in the Outdoors. Inclusion and Equity in Outdoor Leisure – Whose Body Belongs? Oxfordshire, UK: CABI Publishing, 15-38.  

Baker, M., Peel, N., Peronne, L., Maxwell, H., & Wilts, E. (2025). The Assumptions and Challenges of Dis-abled Bodies. Inclusion and Equity in Outdoor Leisure – Whose Body Belongs? Oxfordshire, UK: CABI Publishing, 39-60.

Baker, M. & Schmidt, A. (2025). Navigating Discourses of Racialized Bodies in Outdoor Leisure. Inclusion and Equity in Outdoor Leisure – Whose Body Belongs? Oxfordshire, UK: CABI Publishing, 61-88.

Carr, N. & Baker, M. (2025). Conclusion. Inclusion and Equity in Outdoor Leisure – Whose Body Belongs? Oxfordshire, UK: CABI Publishing, 161-170.

Lunnay, B., Foley, K. Lawn, S., Baigent, M., Weightman, A., Lawrence, D., Drummond, V., Baker, M. & Ward, P. (2024). An ethnographic study of workplace impacts on doctors’ mental health in an Australian public hospital: a socioecological analysis. British Medical Journal (open), 14(11), e088283. 

Baker, M., McDonald, H., Stewart, S., McLachlan, C., DeSouza, D., Pablo, Z. & Vongalis-Macrow, A., (2023). Actioning ‘Be Good’: How Torrens University Australia’s research contributes to Sustainable Development Goals and impacts communities and practices. In Ike, O., Adamavi-Aho Ekue, A., Singh, D. & Usher, J. (Eds.). Leading Ethical Leaders: Higher Education, Business Schools and SDGs. Globethics, 99-168.

Baker, M. & O'Brien, W. (2023). An Impossible Job: How Self-Surveillance, Responsibilisation and Personalisation Shape Outdoor Leader Embodiment. Leisure Sciences 45(5), 400-417.

Hsiao, A., Ma, E., Baker, M., Manfreda, A., & Xu, J. (2023). A Social Exchange Perspective on Boosting Customer Loyalty through Culturally Competent Servers---The Mediation Role of Guest gratitude. Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, 32(4), 555-577.

Baker, M. (2022). Becoming a researcher: navigating messy researcher subjectivities. In The Messiness of Leisure Research. Routledge, 6-15.

Carr, N., Stewart, E., & Baker, M. (2022). Introduction to Special Issue (part 3) Being Outdoors: Being in the Urban Outdoors. Annals of Leisure Research 25(5), 565-568.

Stewart, E., Carr, N. & Baker, M.  (2022). Introduction to Special Issue (part 2) Being Outdoors: Other and Othering. Annals of Leisure Research, 25(4), 427-450.

Baker, M., Carr, N. & Stewart, E. (2022). Introduction to Special Issue (part 1) on Being Outdoors: Challenging and celebrating diverse outdoor experiences and embodiments.  Annals of Leisure Research 25(3), 305-313.

Baker, M. & Hannant-Minchel, J. (2022). “Both are equal, which is awesome”: Exploring gendered discourses in Canadian summer camps. Annals of Leisure Research, 25(3), 417-434.

Carr, N., Baker, M. & Stewart, E., (2021). Introduction: Re-thinking leisure activities in the outdoors. Leisure activities in the outdoors: Learning, developing and challenging. CABI Publishing, 1-9.

Baker, M., Stewart, E. & Carr, N. Eds. (2021). Conclusion: Disrupting outdoor leisure. Leisure activities in the outdoors: Learning, developing and challenging. CABI Publishing, 172-181.

Baker, M., Carr, N. & Stewart, E. (Eds.) (2021). Leisure activities in the outdoors: Learning, developing and challenging. CABI Publishing.

Baker, M. (2020). Becoming and Being a Camp Counsellor: Discourse, Power Relations and Emotions. Palgrave McMillan/Springer. 

Highlights

  • Mattering at Mini U: An exploration of cultures where people are and feel valued
  • Making camps places of welcome for 2SLGBTQIA+ people
  • Emotional labour and relations of power of summer camp employment experiences
  • People skills for future work: Exploring how recreation service employees prepare and deliver people-centric service and community development
  • SSHRC Engage Grant ($25,000) Exploring and celebrating practices of safety, inclusion and mattering of queer youth in a United Church of Canada summer camp. Co-PI with Luc Cousineau, PhD.
  • Co-host of The Pudding, a podcast exploring research about summer camps.
  • 2022 Research for Impact award, Torrens University
  • 2016 Excellence in Research award, Canadian Camping Association

Courses

  • Introduction to Leisure Concepts (KPER 1400)
  • Sociology of Physical Activity and Leisure (KPER 3460)
  • Outdoor Recreation and Land-based Learning (REC 2130)