Dawn Trussell, PhD

Professor, Sport Management

Dawn Trussell

905 688 5550
[email protected]

Web link

My research explores how sport can become more equitable, inclusive, and socially just space for young people, women, families, and communities. Recent research projects have focused on regional, provincial, and national sport organizations. My work focuses on understanding the intersections of identity, including gender, disability, race, class, and sexuality, and translating research into practical strategies that strengthen sport organizations and the communities they serve.

Supported by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Sport Canada’s Research Initiative, and the Australian Research Council, I am committed to research that creates real-world impact. I have been honoured to serve on the Canadian Gender+ Equity in Sport Research Hub Scientific Committee, as President of the Canadian Association for Leisure Studies, and as recipient of Brock University’s Chancellor’s Chair for Research Excellence (2021-2024) in recognition of my work on allyship and activism in sport.

One of the most rewarding aspects of my career is mentoring exceptional master’s and doctoral students in the Sport Allyship and Inclusion lab (SAIL), where together we are advancing innovative research to help create more inclusive sport systems and communities.

Research Interests

  • Social justice issues in community, regional, and provincial sport systems.
  • Sport policy, governance, and equity issues (e.g., gender, disability, race, sexuality, class etc.).
  • Activism, allyship, and coalition-building in sport organizations.
  • Transition to motherhood and sport leadership.
  • Methodological and ethical issues in research design.

Professional Affiliations Accreditations and Certificates

  • North American Society for Sport Management (Member)
  • Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand (Member)
  • Canadian Association of Leisure Studies (Past-President)
  • National Gender Equity+ Sport Research Hub (Past-Scientific Committee)

Academic Distinctions and Awards

12 External Research Grants Obtained from Australian Research Council, Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Sport Canada etc. (Valued at over $1,8 million to date)

Brock University Chancellor’s Chair for Research Excellence for Scholarly Excellence (2021-2024)

Brock University Rosalind (Hyman) Blauer Award for research that brings attention to or improves the position of women in society (2018)

Scholarly Publications

BOOKS (last 5 years):

1. Trussell, D. E. & Jeanes, R. (Eds.) (2021). Families, sport, leisure and social justice: From protest to progress. Routledge.

INVITED CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDITED BOOKS (last 5 years):

*Denotes student mentoring.

1. Trussell, D. E., *Ritondo, T., & Kerwin, S. (in press). Conceptualizing the sport family: Volunteerism and governance in community sport. In R. Hoye, S. Kerwin, J. Joseph, P. Downward, & M. Warner (Eds.,) Handbook of community sport (21 pages). Routledge.

2. Jeanes, R., & Trussell, D. E. (2024). Families, advocacy and social justice in youth sport. In S. Lawrence, J. Hill, & R. Mowatt (Eds.,) Handbook of Sport, Leisure and Social Justice. Routledge.

3. Trussell, D. E., & Jeanes, R. (2024). Family leisure. In M. Stodolska, D. Scott, & T. Liechty (Eds.), Leisure matters: Exploring leisure in a changing world (4th Ed). Venture.

4. Trussell, D. E., & Kerwin, S. (2024). Gender and voluntary work for diverse and traditionally marginalized identities in community sport organizations. In P. Markula & A. Knoppers (Eds.,) Handbook on gender and diversity in sport management (pp. 277-290). Edward Elgar Publishers.

5. *Ritondo, T., Leberman, S., & Trussell, D. E. (2024). Re-imagining mothers exercising leadership in sport management. In P. Markula & A. Knoppers (Eds.,) Handbook on gender and diversity in sport management (pp. 291-303). Edward Elgar Publishers.

6. Trussell, D. E., Rich, K., & *Quinton, J. (2023). Towards a critical inclusion of LGBTQ+ youth in coaching contexts. In M. Toms & R. Jeanes (Eds.,), Routledge handbook of coaching children in sport (pp. 365-373). Routledge.

7. Trussell, D. E., & Shaw, S. M. (2021). Organized youth sport and parenting in public and private spaces. In J. A. Reich (Ed.), The state of families: Law, policy, and the meanings of relationships (pp. 325-333). Routledge.

8. Misener, K., & Trussell, D. E. (2021). Community sport and engaged citizenship. In T. Glover & E. Sharpe (Eds.), Leisure and its communities: Rethinking mutuality and belonging in the new century (pp. 170-180). Routledge.

REFEREED PUBLICATIONS (last 5 years):

*Denotes student mentoring.

1. *Ritondo, T., Kerwin, S., Trussell, D., *Hill, T., & *Corkery, E. (2025). What is the ‘I’ in team?: Exploring individual role identity in sport board governance. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2025.2592563

2. Paterson, S., *Larios, L., Hebblethwaite, S., Trussell, D., *Mooradian, J., & *Petty, L. (2025). Maternal responsibilization in times of crisis: Transition to motherhood and collective anxiety in Canada. Journal of Gender Studies, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2025.2580400

3. *Ritondo, T., & Trussell, D. E. (2025). Resistance and mothers’ experiences in postnatal team sport: “Didn’t you just have a kid?” Leisure Sciences, 47(5), 1081-1100, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2023.2180118

4. *Mooradian, J., Trussell, D. E., Paterson, S., Hebblethwaite, S., & *Larios, L. (2025). A critical examination of neoliberalism and women’s physically active leisure experiences during the transition to motherhood. Leisure/Loisir, 49(4), 767–795. https://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2025.2555569

5. *Gatt, K., & Trussell, D. E. (2025). Women with acquired physical (dis)abilities: Reclaiming a sense of community belonging through physically active leisure. Leisure Sciences, 47(2), 243-263. doi: 10.1080/01490400.2022.2092242

6. Trussell, D. E., *Mooradian, J., *Porter, J., & Clutterbuck, R. (2024). Motherhood and competitive coaching: six stories of generational differences in persisting and resisting gender inequities in sport. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 16(6), 598–613. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2024.2375617

7. *Porter, J., Trussell, D. E., Clutterbuck, R., & *Mooradian, J. (2024). Mother-coaches’ experiences of policies and programs: “Whoever wrote this policy doesn’t understand what it means to be a mom”. Journal of Sport Management, 38(6), 426-437. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2023-0283

8. Trussell, D. E., Kerwin, S., *Lyn, A., & *Harris, L. (2024). An integrative review and critical analysis of the state of research on gender and women and girls’ sport participation (2000-2020). Quest, 76(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/00336297.2023.2206577

9. *Harris, L., & Trussell, D. E. (2024). Studying professional women footballers: A reflexive commentary on being benched from recruitment. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 59(8), 1231-1243. http://doi/10.1177/10126902241255148

10. *Harris, L., & Trussell, D. E. (2024). Professional women footballers’ stories of marketing portrayals and sponsorship: “I just had to feel grateful for what I’ve been given”. Sport Management Review, 27(4), 620-639. http://doi.org/10.1080/14413523.2024.2335018

11. Kerwin, S., Trussell, D. E., *Cheevers, R., *Ritondo, T., & *McClean, C. (2024). A critical examination of how experiences shape board governance at the community level of sport. Sport Management Review, 27(2), 197–212. https://doi.org/10.1080/14413523.2023.2259148

12. *Murphy, S., Trussell, D. E., *Petrie, M., *Groves, B., & Kerwin, S. (2024). Women and members of socially diverse groups in a sport management program: Key lessons from creating and leading a student-led equity, diversity, and inclusion club. Sport Management Education Journal, 18(1), 13-23. https://doi.org/10.1123/smej.2022-0059

13. Trussell, D. E., Hebblethwaite, S., *Xing, T., Paterson, S., & *Evans, M. (2024). Negotiating intensive mothering and the gendered politics of active leisure among first time mothers in Canada. Leisure/Loisir, 48(1), 77-102. https://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2023.2187867

14. *Hill, T., Trussell, D. E., *Ritondo, T., & Kerwin, S. (2024). A study of critical whiteness in sport research and disrupting racism: Research with a Black Lives Matter task force. Leisure/Loisir, 48(2), 245-258. https://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2023.2291021

15. *Smikle, T., & Trussell, D. E. (2024). Racism and Black male student-athlete experiences in a Canadian university. Leisure/Loisir, 48(2), 191-210. https://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2023.2295327

16. Kerwin, S., Trussell, D. E., *Cheevers, R., *Ritondo, T., & *McClean, C. (2023). A critical examination of how experiences shape board governance at the community level of sport. Sport Management Review, 27(2), 197-212. https://doi.org/10.1080/14413523.2023.2259148

17. *Petty, L., & Trussell, D. E. (2021). Leisure self-care, health and well-being in women’s lives. Annals of Leisure Research, 24(3), 328-339. https://doi.org/10.1080/11745398.2019.1652661

18. Trussell, D. E. (2020). Building inclusive communities in youth sport for lesbian-parented families. Journal of Sport Management, 34(4), 367-377. doi: 10.1123/jsm.2019-0395

Teaching and Service

Teaching

  • Qualitative Analysis for Sport Management (Undergraduate)
  • Advanced Research Seminar in Sport Management (Undergraduate)
  • Qualitative Approaches, Theories, and Methods (Masters)
  • Advanced Qualitative Analysis (PhD)

Service

  • Brock University, Social Justice and Research Institute
  • Brock University, Social Justice and Equity Studies Program
  • Brock University, Senate, Elected member
  • Brock University, Senate, Graduate Studies Committee

Graduate Student Opportunities

I am always excited to welcome passionate master’s and doctoral students whose research seeks to advance equity, inclusion, and social justice in community and professional sport. The graduate students I work with are active members of the Sport Allyship and Inclusion Lab (SAIL), where they join a collaborative and supportive research community dedicated to producing meaningful scholarship. I value mentoring students as emerging scholars, helping them develop their research project/ programs, publish their work, build professional networks and prepare for careers in academia and beyond. If you are motivated to make sport more equitable and inclusive through innovative qualitative research, I encourage you to reach out to discuss potential graduate supervision opportunities.