• Sport Psychology
• Positive youth development
• Life skills
• Program development, implementation, and evaluation
• Sport and physical activity
• Knowledge translation
• Girls and women in sport
• Postpartum physical activity
• Behaviour change

Accreditation 

• Credentialed Evaluator, Canadian Evaluation Society 

Affiliations 

• Director, Centre for Healthy Youth Development through Sport
• Member, Centre for Sport Capacity, Brock University
• Academic Network, Youth Research & Evaluation eXchange 
• Canadian Evaluation Society 
• Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology

• 2025 Faculty of Applied Health Sciences Research Excellence Award
• 2024 Emerging Leisure Scholar Award Canadian Association of Leisure Studies

Selected Publications (2022-present)

1.     Bean, C., McEwan, M. M., & Armstrong, T. (in press). We can do whatever inspires
us”: Using personal meaning maps to explore participants’ experiences of gender within one women-led girls’ baseball organization. Journal of Sport for Development.

2.     Hummell, C., Bean. C., Riche, M., & Penrose, C. (2026). Organizational learning through evaluation: A reflective case narrative of a Canadian sport-for-development program evaluation champion. Evaluation & Program Planning. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2026.102788

3.     Bean, C., & Lesser, I. (in press). Commentary – The increasing use of medication in
postpartum weight loss and its effect on physically active leisure. Leisure/Loisir.

4.     Shaikh, M., Bean, C., & McBride, K., Bergholz, L. (2026). Mixed methods evaluation of a trauma-informed e-learning training for community youth workers. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma. doi:10.1007/s40653-026-00862-x

5.      Hummell, C., & Bean, C. (2026). Mentoring for the positive youth development of girls in sport: Sport organization perspectives and practices. Youth, 6(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/youth6010033

6.      Bean, C., Murray, R., Kerwin, S., & Donnelley, S. (2026). Parental bias in youth sport: The effects of implicit and explicit gender associations on support and pressure. Psychology of Sport & Exercise.

7.      Kramers, S., & Bean, C. (2025). Sharing women’s sport coaching journeys through digital storytelling. World Leisure Journal. https://doi.org/10.1080/16078055.2025.2461174

8.      Lesser, I. A., Mahmood, B., Lear, S. & Bean, C. (2025). The need for understanding beliefs and barriers around physical activity postpartum among South Asian immigrant women to improve health equity: A commentary. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.18121

9.      Kramers, S., Bean, C., Hummell, C., & Harlow, M. (2024). Exploring Canadian women’s coaching journeys to high-performance sport through a composite creative nonfiction. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 17(3), 189-204. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2024.2442659

10.      Lesser, I., Bean, C., & Ritondo, T. (2024). “Take a minute (or 60) to focus on yourself”: Using autophotography to explore postpartum physical activity experiences and associated psychological constructs. Journal of Health Psychology. doi:10.1177/13591053241284032

11.      Pierce, S., O’Neil, L., Camiré, M., Bean, C., & Rathwell, S. (2024). Examining the relationship between life skills coaching approaches and life skills outcomes for high school athletes. International Sport Coaching Journal (ahead of print). https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2023-0091

12.      Ritondo, T., Bean, C., & Lesser, I. (2024). Pictures and processes: The use of autophotography to illustrate the experience of physical activity engagement in motherhood. Methods in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metip.2024.100139

13.      Lesser, I., Wurz, A., Bean, C., & Hatfield, G. (2024). Exploring feasibility, accessibility, and potential benefits of the Mom Movement intervention (MOMmi): A 12-week mind-body physical activity program for postpartum women. Nursing for Women’s Health, 28(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nwh.2024.01.006

14.      Lesser, I. A., Wurz, A., Bean, C., Lear, S. A., & Jung, M. E. (2023). Participant bias in community-based physical activity research: A consistent limitation? Journal of Physical Activity and Health. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2023-0267

15.      Turgeon, S., Newman, T. J., Lee, L., Bean, C., & Nicholas, O. (2023). Social justice attitudes and behavioural intentions of NCAA student-athletes: The role of life skills. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2023.2238273

16.  Ritondo, T., Bean, C., & Lesser, I. (2023). “I didn’t know who to ask about how it should feel”: Postpartum women navigating the return to physically active leisure. Leisure/Loisir. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2023.2224344

17.  Allan, V. ^, Bean, C., Kerr, B. ^, & Gassewitz, D. ^ (2023). Partnering for impact: A blueprint for knowledge translation initiatives in the Canadian sport sector. Quest. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/00336297.2023.2209331

18.  Kramers, S., Bean, C., Hummell, C., Allan, V., Johnson, A., & Turnnidge, J. (2023). Reflections on improving women’s experiences of mentorship in Canadian coaching. International Sport Coaching Journal, Advance online publication, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2022-0091

19.  Bishop, E., Turgeon, S., Tang, W., Newman, T., Strachan, L., Bean, C., & Camiré, M. (2023). White privilege in Canadian high school sport: Investigating White coaches’ perspectives on social justice issues. Sport Coaching Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/21640629.2023.2218265

20.  Bean, C., Lesser, I., & Ritondo, T. (2023). Women moving forward in pictures: Using digital photographs to explore postpartum women’s physical activity experiences. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 15(5), 669-691. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2023.2185283

21.  Hummell, C., Shaikh, M. & Bean, C. (2023). Current state and future directions for youth sport evaluation practices: An empirical study. Managing Sport and Leisure. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2023.2184714

22.  Lesser, I., Turgeon, S., Neinhuis, C., & Bean, C. (2023). Examining the role of physical activity engagement on psychological constructs and mental well-being of postpartum women. Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 31(1), 40-49. https://doi.org/10.1123/wspaj.2022-0057

23.  Dineen, T. E., Bean, C., & Jung, M. E. (2022). Successes and challenges from a motivational interviewing-informed diabetes prevention program situated in the community. Health Promotion Practice. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248399221115066

24.  Newman, T., Turgeon, S., Moore, M., Bean., C., Lee, L., Knuettel, M., & Osmers Rahill, C. (2022). The dual pandemic: COVID-19, systemic racism, and college student-athletic mental health. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 21(1), 156-173. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2022.2026997

25.  Dineen, T. E., Bean, C., & Jung, M. E. (2022). Implementation of a diabetes prevention program within two community sites: A qualitative assessment. Implementation Science Communications, 3(11), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-022-00258-6

Blogs

Lee, L., Bean, C., Heath, A., & Biscaro, N. (2026, May). It’s time to switch gears: how sport can be used to build mental health literacy for boys. https://sirc.ca/articles/its-time-to-switch-gears-how-sport-can-be-used-to-build-mental-health-literacy-for-boys/

Bean, C., & Lesser, I. (2026 March). Physical activity at every size postpartum in the face of expanding weight loss prescriptions. https://sirc.ca/articles/physical-activity-at-every-size-postpartum-in-the-face-of-expanding-weight-loss-prescriptions/

Bean, C., Kerwin, S., & Bookman, D. (July 2024). What we can all learn from Canadian Girls Baseball: A leader in girls-only sport (blog). Sport Information Resource Centre Blog https://sirc.ca/blog/what-we-can-all-learn-from-canadian-girls-baseball-a-leader-in-girls-only-sport/

Hummell, C., & Bean, C. (October 2023). Four strategies to support girls through sport-based mentorship. Sport Information Resource Centre Blog. https://sirc.ca/blog/support-girls-sport-mentorship/

Lau, M., Bean, C., & Hummell, C. (2023). How youth athletes can support their own life skill development through sport. Sport Information Resource Centre Blog. https://sirc.ca/blog/life-skill-development-through-sport/

Bean, C., Newman, T., Camiré, M., & Strachan, L. (2022). Using life skills to promote social justice: Youth sport as a vehicle for social change. Sport Information Resource Centre Blog. https://sirc.ca/blog/using-life-skills-to-promote-social-justice/

Lesser, I., Bean, C., & Hatfield, G. (2022). Heart rate variability and self-compassion: Two tools to help postpartum mothers make exercise decisions. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/heart-rate-variability-and-self-compassion-two-tools-to-help-postpartum-mothers-make-exercise-decisions-193548

Bean, C., Lesser, I., & Ritondo, T. (2022). From one mom to another: Tips for being active after welcoming a new baby. Sport Information Resource Centre https://sirc.ca/blog/tips-for-being-active-after-a-baby/

Lesser, I., Nienhuis, C., Bean, C., & Ritondo, T. (2022). Returning to exercise postpartum: Supporting women’s physical activity after the birth of a child. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/returning-to-exercise-postpartum-supporting-womens-physical-activity-after-the-birth-of-a-child-177744

Book chapters

• Bean, C., Newman, T., J., Kramers, S., Hummell, C., & Anderson-Butcher, D. (accepted).Connecting the “thoughts”: Reflections and applications of using visual arts-based methods to understand youth development within sport. In. R. Hoye, S. Kerwin, J. Joseph, P. Downward, & M. Warner (Eds.), Handbook of Community Sport. Routledge.
• Bean, C., & Shaikh, M., & Hummell, C. (2026). Using evaluation & evidence translation to impact on sports development. Routledge Handbook of Sports Development (2nd ed., pp. 537-548). Routledge.
• Bean, C., & Shaikh, M. (2024). Evaluation for positive youth development through sport. In N. L. Holt and M. McDonough (Eds.), Positive youth development through sport (3^rd ed., pp. 288-301). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003395867
• Kramers, S., Bean, C., Camiré, M., & Forneris, T. (2023). Teaching life skills in youth sport. In D. Tod, K. Hodge, & V. Krane (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Applied Sport Psychology (2^nd ed., pp. 203-210). Routledge.
• Bean, C., & Kramers, S. (2022). How sports can prepare you for life. In S. N. Thrower,  V. Shanmuganathan-Felton, & C. Harwood (Eds.), Frontiers for Young Minds: The psychology behind sports performance. https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2022.666078

Teaching

• Leisure, Health and Wellbeing
• Program Evaluation in Recreation

Service

• RECL Graduate Representative

Dr. Bean supports numerous undergraduate student course-based within RECL(e.g., RECL 3P00, RECL 4P00, RECL 4F27) and beyond (e.g., IASC 3P95, PSYC 4F91), as well as volunteer research opportunities that complement her research interests and as part of the Centre for Healthy Youth Development through Sport. If you have a topic that you would like to explore, please reach out to discuss.

Dr. Bean is accepting applications from students interested in completing a thesis-based master’s of doctoral degree. She has funding to support students in an area of study that aligns with her expertise (e.g., positive youth development through sport, program evaluation, behaviour change, knowledge translation, postpartum women’s physical activity). Please review her publication record.

In addition, Dr. Bean supervises directed studies courses at the graduate level (e.g., AHSC 5P60, AHSC 7P60) that complement her research interests and through the Centre for Healthy Youth Development through Sport. If you are interested, please reach out to discuss this opportunity.