Member Showcases

  • July Member Showcase: Dr. Laura Cousens

    Friday, July 30, 2021 | By

     

    Our July Member Showcase is…Associate Professor in the Department of Sport Management at Brock University, Dr. Laura Cousens!

    We learned more about Dr. Cousens’ research background, what she enjoys about teaching, some of her research projects, and some of her personal interests/hobbies.

    Can you tell us a little bit about your background and what led you to specialize in your specific line of work? Can you tell us why you wanted to join the Centre for Sport Capacity and what you’ve gotten out of being part of the Centre so far?

    When I first started, I looked at professional sport and I actually put the SPMA Pro Sport course on the books because I felt it was essential with so many of our students looking to get into pro sport to understand more than just the box scores. My thesis and my PhD were all done on pro sport but when Sport Canada introduced the Sport Canada Research Initiative Grant in 2007, to encourage professors to do research on sport participation, I submitted an application, and we were awarded a grant in the very first year. I had published some articles on network analysis in the past, so what we decided to do was use a network perspective to look at community sport organizations. One of the things I am most proud of is, we did a panel discussion for NAASM expecting no one to show up presenting this data, and the room was full with only standing-room space left for attendees. From here, we decided to do a special issue on community sport because there was clearly a lot of interest and we wanted to get the research out in the public. When I went on sabbatical, we began this special issue for the Journal of Sport Management and expected to get 20-25 submissions and received over 70. Only being able to include eight in the special issue, the rest were to be published in subsequent issues of the Journal of Sport Management. For a couple years, I really focused on getting all of this data out into the public, until the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver. When I attended, I heard there was 40-50 of our students in volunteer roles at the games, so I took some time to go out and visit them and thought that there are so many jobs in major games, there should be a course for it. So, I created the Major Games course for the Sport Management department. It is an experiential course where students are put in roles within major games and the one thing that I realized is that students do amazing work when they are put in these roles. I also teach the strategic alliances course, which is how I have tied in my networks research with my teaching. This was, at the time, one of the only courses in North America dealing with inter-organizational relationships and there was no publications in sport speaking to this. To ensure students had material within sport for this course I did another special issue for the International Journal of Sport Management on my next sabbatical. We still use these articles to this day, and they are fantastic for the students. A number of years ago now, I partnered with Right to Play to create the SPMA 3P93 Sport for Development course and as much as it is a lecture-based course, it really is experiential because the students are learning through play. In the Sport for Development field course, we have gone to Turks and Caicos and hope to go to the Barbados in the future to work on sport for development projects and provide a sustainable development commitment to the people there.

    The Centre for Sport Capacity to me is an opportunity for professional collaboration and it provides opportunities for its members to undertake projects and consulting that benefit our research, teaching and the students without being under academia. The CSC also allows the opportunity to be entrepreneurial with applying for grants and cultivating partnerships. The Centre is absolutely vital to providing this avenue to professors to work on projects which can involve individuals from all across campus. The CSC is like a “think tank”, being able to bring different ideas together from many different perspectives and disciplines

    Can you speak about a class (or classes) that you are teaching this semester/a class you taught previously/one that you will be teaching soon? What about this class/these classes excites you? Is this a new class that you are/will be teaching? Or a class that you’ve taught in the past?

    I’ve taught virtually everything in the sport management department and the course that is the biggest eye opener for students has got to be Sport for Development. So many students that come into our program don’t think about it and they say it is a game changer for them and that they see sport through a lens that will really help people. For the students that want to work in pro sport, we look at a lot of pro sport foundations and how you can blend sport for development and pro sport together. These foundations invest in community sport programs which is very near and dear to my heart and is exactly what these trips to Turks and Caicos and Barbados are doing. If you ask me for a second one, it would be Major Games because it has impacted so many students lives.

    Can you speak about any recent, current, or future research projects that you’re excited about? What inspired you to want to get involved in your topic of research? Was this research work partnered with a community partner in the sports industry or any other industry?

    In COVID you’re able to participate in all these meeting with people all around the world, so when I was on a call with a lot of people, I put in the chat if anyone knew of any Sport for Development programs in the Caribbean. I heard back about this award-winning program in Barbados that was started by a professor who was also on the Barbados Olympic Committee. The issue we were dealing with in the Turks and Caicos was the high dropout rate and the UN did a study and found that only 60-70% of kids in school there graduate. So what were were doing was working with the schools to improve that statistic through the power of sport, workshops, and presentations to get the kids to stay in school. So this program in the Barbados sets kids up with an internship in their last year of school in something they are interested in, and this has resulted in a near 100% graduation rate. The idea is to get kids out of the classroom to motivate what could be out there for them and inform their worldview. They also learn organizational skills and marketing skills from planning sports events and that is how sport is used to teach some of these hard skills that are then used in their jobs. That is what my research is focused on right now, because this is a model that could be used all around the Caribbean. The idea is that publishing this research will expand the impact of that work going on down there.

    What’s your favourite TV show right now?

    Game of Thrones would be my pick right now.

    What are your current hobbies/interests?

    Competitive equestrian, play tennis, distance swimming, spending time with my two kids and my family.

    What’s your favourite book?

    Murder mystery novels and suspense crime, Jo Nesbo is one of my favourite authors. I also love biographies because digging into the life of someone is so fascinating.

    What’s your favourite sport or sports team?

    We are a Raptors family and have a Raptors den with flags, banners, sweaters, and it’s all “kidded out”. I also love the Olympics and being able to watch all these different sports like Rugby and so many others. My favourite sports to participate in are Riding, tennis, swimming.

    Now’s your time to talk yourself up! You can talk about awards you’ve won, certifications you have, professional affiliations, personal achievements…anything your heart desires!

    I would say that the two special issues I authored were very special to me because they were very impactful in our field of sport management and I was the first person to publish an article on networks in our discipline. I have also won some awards for volunteering outside of Brock. I won the Ontario Bronze medal for volunteering for work I did with the Kidney Foundation where we created an event that has probably raised over $250,000 now. I am very proud of that work as many professors are focused on their publications, but for me its all about can I make an impact on a student’s life. Creating new courses like Sport for Development, Pro Sport, and Major Games and taking kids overseas have been some of my best memories. For me it’s fabulous to see the students have these personal growth opportunities while also providing a sustainable development commitment to others.

    Categories: Blog, Member Showcases

  • June Member Showcase: Cole McClean

    Monday, June 28, 2021 | By

    Our June Member Showcase is…Coordinator of the Centre for Sport Capacity (CSC) at Brock University, Cole McClean!

    We learned more about Cole’s path to the CSC, what he enjoys about his role, some of his research interests, and some of his personal interests/hobbies.

    Can you tell us a little bit about your background and what led you to specialize in your specific line of work? Can you tell us why you wanted to join the Centre for Sport Capacity and what you’ve gotten out of being part of the Centre so far?

    I was in a unique position when I took on the role as the coordinator of the Centre for Sport Capacity. I had just finished up my M.A. (Sport Management) here at Brock working with current member Dr. Shannon Kerwin. Upon completion of my degree, I was weighing next steps and decided to take on some Research Assistant (RA) roles to fill the unemployment void, as well as a chance to explore new areas and learn new skills. I knew I enjoyed research and wanted to explore a related role in the industry, rather than pursue a PhD right away. One of those RA roles was with a multi-department Experiential Education project at Brock with Dr. Julie Stevens and a few other Brock members. I actually hadn’t worked with Julie in my time at Brock, but after working with her on a couple of projects, the CSC Coordinator role opened up, it seemed like a great fit.

    As for what I’ve gotten out of my first couple of years with the CSC, there is too much to cover in one post. The first aspect that stands out are the meetings with community partners. I learn a lot from each group or individual we meet with and the process of understanding their needs as well as figuring out how to support them is rewarding.

    The other part is student engagement – over the past few years I feel the CSC has done a good job of providing students across various departments at Brock with valuable practical experience. We’ve really carved out some consistent roles as well so we’re always trying to offer students experiential education opportunities.

    Can you speak about any recent, current, or future research projects that you’re excited about? What inspired you to want to get involved in your topic of research? Was this research work partnered with a community partner in the sports industry or any other industry?

    There are a lot of projects that I am excited about in the Centre and I almost feel bad choosing only one. If I had to choose one at the moment though, it would be the 2020 U16 European Cup – Girls Hockey Participation project involving a number of national hockey federations. The purpose is to understand the issues girls playing the sport face and resulting high drop-out. In turn, the goal is to develop resources and support initiatives aimed at reducing barriers faced across particular age groups. This project is notable to me as it was the first major project I was involved in as the coordinator (Winter 2019), and while COVID-19 halted the project, progress is being made again.

    What’s your favourite TV show right now?

    It takes me a while to get through shows, but Billions is currently major one I’m working on. I also recently finished the Expanse, which I highly recommend as it filled the hole that Games of Thrones ending, left.

    What are your current hobbies/interests? (maybe something you picked up since we’ve all been staying home!)

    My healthy hobby that really got me through winter was daily walks to get away from screens and take my mind of things with a podcast or music. I never thought I’d be a person that could go for walks so often, but with the lockdowns the walks became

    To try and make weekends a bit more exciting, I usually attempt a new, interesting recipe that I’ve never done before. It’s been rewarding trying dishes that I honestly never thought I’d make myself.

    What’s your favourite book? (recently, or your all-time favourite)

    Recently, Barack Obama’s memoir A Promised Land as I’ve followed politics to some degree, but learning what actually goes on behind the scenes and the toll it takes is really interesting.

    What’s your favourite sport or sports team?

    If I were to pick one, it would have to be the Toronto Raptors. I love the sport and everything the organization has come to stand for. I also enjoy reading about Masai Ujiri as a leader, how he approaches his role, and the great things he’s done for the culture of the organization.

    Categories: Blog, Member Showcases

  • May Member Showcase: Dr. Pat Reid

    Monday, May 31, 2021 | By

    Our May Member Showcase is…Associate Professor with the Department of Sport Management at Brock University, Dr. Pat Reid!

    We learned more about Dr. Reid’s areas of academic interest, Sport Management courses that he has taught, a research project on the 1972 summer Olympic Games in Munich, and some of his personal interests/hobbies.

    Can you tell us a little bit about your background and what led you to specialize in your specific line of work? Can you tell us why you wanted to join the Centre for Sport Capacity and what you’ve gotten out of being part of the Centre so far?

    Over 40 years of management positions in various sport industry capacities. This included 17 years as a sport consultant with Sport Canada; vice-president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association before it morphed into Hockey Canada; director general of the Sport Medicine & Science Council of Canada; director of marketing with Natation Swimming Canada; director of sponsorship for Corel Corporation; director general of back-to-back Ontario Summer Games (Ottawa); executive director of the combative sports commission in Edmonton, during which time I picked up a Ph.D. in sport management at the University of Alberta. I then applied for, and was hired, by Brock University to teach sport management courses.

    Can you speak about a class (or classes) that you are teaching this semester/a class you taught previously/one that you will be teaching soon? What about this class/these classes excites you? Is this a new class that you are/will be teaching? Or a class that you’ve taught in the past?

    One of the strengths I bring to the department and the CSC is about 40-years of “hands on” management experience in sport. It makes for richer dialogue and student understanding. Industry experience provides you with applied knowledge such that you can successfully teach a myriad of subjects. Teaching out of a textbook without industry experience limits the value of the information, in part because the available texts are grossly slanted toward the USA market. Lecturing from the perspective of lived experience allows students to better appreciate what management in sport in Canada is really all about – both the good and the bad. With the electronic world we live in today, students already have access to written material about theory while actual industry experience is a sought after added value. I have taught courses in organizational behavior, sport policy, critical issues in managing sports events, ethics in sport, the business of hockey, the internship program, etc. It is not the course material I enjoy, it is communicating with the curious student, the high work ethic student that is really attractive for me.

    The Centre for Sport Capacity (CSC) is an interesting initiative by Dr. Julie Stevens (also a U. of Alberta grad). I like the concept and was asked by Julie (and Cole McLean) to join the CSC. The CSC is a work in progress with some blue-chip members willing to work in cooperation and collaboration with each other. I hope I can make a contribution as well.

    Can you speak about any recent, current, or future research projects that you’re excited about? What inspired you to want to get involved in your topic of research? Was this research work partnered with a community partner in the sports industry or any other industry?

    I have always had an interest in research stemming from curiosity at a young age. I have published more than 25 articles in sport technical journals before writing 6 academic articles and was involved with two book chapters. I am pleased to be the first SPMA professor to

    present papers at the Academy of Management (AOM) and the European Group of Organizational Studies (EGOS). Currently, my latest research is a historical piece on the 1972 summer Olympic Games in Munich where the PLO killed the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches. It was my first attended Olympic Games and I collected the available German newspapers each day and kept them in a scrapbook. It sat on a shelf for years. Just recently I had the articles translated into English. These newspaper articles are no longer available at source, so my collection is a rich secondary data set. I am in the process of interviewing a number of Canadian athletes, media, and officials who were in Munich, to obtain primary data. I want to publish a paper next year, the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, from a Canadian participatory perspective.

    I have a number of other research initiatives that bode well for collaboration with other CSC members. It just takes time to prioritize and follow through.

    Are you involved in any clubs/associations?

    As a senior age wise, I now value my time more than ever, so I am only volunteering to CSC because I fully endorse and support what Julie Stevens is attempting to do with CSC.

    What’s your favourite TV show right now?

    The Good Doctor & Blue Bloods.

    Best Netflix series?

    The Queen’s Gambit; Jack Ryan; Longmire; Shetland, Ozark, Justified.

    What are your current hobbies/interests?

    (maybe something you picked up since we’ve all been staying home!) Learning to play guitar, studying Aboriginal sport history.

    What’s your favourite book?

    I have a home library of over 75 sports books that expands regularly! Every book read or re-read can spark your curiosity and new ideas.

    What’s your favourite sport or sports team?

    From my coaching background and time spent with marketing guru Mark McCormack, I developed a preference to focus my time observing “individual talent” even in team sports like hockey: Connor McDavid, Marc-Andre Fleury, Alexander Ovechkin, Connor Hellebuyck, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, etc., rather than rallying behind one specific team. It allows for a wider appreciation of every game, of every sport.

    Now’s your time to talk yourself up! You can talk about awards you’ve won, certifications you have, professional affiliations, personal achievements…anything your heart desires!

    Achievements/Awards/Rewards

    I’ve received numerous “awards and accolades”. To date the two most significant would be receiving the University of Waterloo Alumni Achievement Award, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences and being inducted into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame. In terms of “rewards”, I love and cherish my daughter Taylar and son Brett, and I am blessed with my life with Joanne, my wife. At a distant second (and materialistic) level, I am happy to have my three rings representing three IIHF world hockey championships, and my Olympic ring for being a head coach.

    Future Desires

    I’ve been involved with the SPMA 4F01/4F02 internship course each year and I have read the students self-reflection papers at the end of each term. Fourth-year students dislike working 450 hours for free. It is time for the program to take the next step and require employers to pay “something”, even $500/month, for students placed with their organization. I wish I had the time to contribute to taking this program to the next level.

    In addition, I would like to write a non-fiction book or two. Academically, we need more Canadian focused and Canadian relevant texts in sport marketing, sponsorship, management, etc. This brings me back to the necessity of the added value of professors having industry experience and imparting realistic knowledge of the management of sport in Canada to students preparing to work and succeed in the industry. It would be nice to partner with a few key colleagues and industry partners to create such texts. That is a significant benefit of the Centre of Sport Capacity.

    Tags: , , , , , ,
    Categories: Blog, Member Showcases

  • March Member Showcase: Dr. Brad Millington

    Wednesday, March 03, 2021 | By

    Our March Member Showcase is…Associate Professor with the Department of Sport Management at Brock University, Dr. Brad Millington!

    We learned more about Dr. Millington’s areas of academic interest, a new class he is teaching called “Sport and the Environment,” a research project that he worked on about the use of bicycles in “development” initiatives, and some of his personal interests/hobbies.

    Can you tell us a little bit about your background and what led you to specialize in your specific line of work?

    My two areas of interest are sport media and technology, and sport and environmental sustainability. Ages ago I was at a video store (maybe Blockbuster … which I miss!) and a Nintendo Wii promotion caught my attention – I think the Wii was described as intuitive. I already had experience studying sport media. This seemed a new way of talking about technology that was worth thinking about in depth. It led to an interest in technologies like wearable tracking devices, exercise-themed video games, and fitness apps. My work on sport and the environment started from a project with my supervisor, Brian Wilson, when I was a grad student at UBC. We’ve worked together ever since. And, of course, it’s driven by the fact that the climate crisis presents enormous concerns.

    Can you speak about a class that you are teaching this semester/a class you taught previously/one that you will be teaching soon?

    I’m excited that I’ll soon be teaching a new grad class called Sport and the Environment. You might have seen the alarming images of orange skies over San Francisco’s baseball stadium during the wildfires on the American west coast in the summer of 2020. It was another stark reminder of how sport is often at the whim of the environment – and will continue to be in the years ahead. So, it’s worth discussing how sport impacts and is impacted by the environment, and whether and how sport can contribute to better environmental futures.

    Can you speak about any recent, current, or future research projects that you are excited about?

    I was fortunate to be part of a project with colleagues, led by Lyndsay Hayhurst from York University, on the use of bicycles in ‘development’ initiatives. The project was timely in that bicycles seem to have taken on heightened importance recently – for example, in the pursuit of sustainable transportation, in providing economic opportunities, and in promoting health and wellbeing. The pandemic has only propelled this thinking. Yet the project also identified lingering barriers for bicycle users (or would-be users), such as environmental conditions and infrastructure that isn’t conducive to cycling.

    speed round ice breakers

    What is your favourite TV show right now?

    I’m a big fan of watching cooking shows like Top Chef and The Great British Bake Off and then making my own (very) mediocre versions.

    What is your favourite movie?

    Too hard to choose. Field of Dreams is the first movie I rented (Blockbuster!). Do the Right Thing made me realize how meaningful movies can be. And A Few Good Men is the movie I’ve seen countless times.

    WHat is your favourite book?

    Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death. The central idea – that the form of communication necessarily impacts the content – seems more relevant than ever in the time of social media.

    what are your current hobbies/interests?

    I’m quite enjoying tobogganing this winter, until we reach the inevitable point where I start carrying both my kids back up the hill.

    NOW IS THE TIME TO TALK YOURSELF UP! WHAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE PROUD OF (AWARDS, PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS, ETC.) THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE?

    Most of all, I love the range of different tasks that comes with life at the University. I’ve been fortunate to be involved in exciting collaborative research projects, to teach excellent undergrad and grad students, and to work with great colleagues on important administrative initiatives.

    Tags: , , , , , , ,
    Categories: Blog, Member Showcases

  • February Member Showcase: Dr. Kyle Rich

    Friday, February 12, 2021 | By

    Our February Member Showcase is Assistant Professor with the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at Brock University, Dr. Kyle Rich!

    We sat down (virtually) with Dr. Rich and learned about his educational background, a new class that he is teaching, a series of research projects that he is wrapping up about rural events, and a few of his personal interests and hobbies.

    Can you tell us a little bit about your background and what led you to specialize in your specific line of work?

    My background is in kinesiology. I studied my master’s at the University of Ottawa and I did my Ph. D. at Western. My focus was on sport and recreation policy as it relates to diverse communities, specifically rural communities. I had really good critical mentors who kind of pushed me in that direction and I got really interested in sport development. I’m from a small town so I think I always considered what that looked like in the bigger picture. And then that led me to this intersection of sport policy and rural development.

    Can you speak about a class that you are teaching/a class you taught previously/one that you will be teaching soon?

    This term, I am teaching Foundations of Leisure Studies. It is the course that everyone in the master’s program studying Recreation and Leisure takes. It’s a new course for me but it’s exciting because it’s my first grad-level course. In the class we cover classic and contemporary approaches to looking at leisure. I’m excited because it’s a small course, we get to cover some real research-focused content, and it gets in-depth about theory and research paradigms and things like that, not to mention that half of the class are students that I am supervising. So we’re a pretty tight group and it’s definitely going to be fun to work through that course with them.

    Can you speak about any recent, current, or future research projects that you’re excited about? What inspired you to want to get involved in your topic of research?

    I’m actually wrapping up a series of projects where I’m looking at rural sports events. One is called “The Battle of the Little Big Puck,” an event held in Maple Creek Saskatchewan. I just had a paper come out about it where we looked at settler-Indigenous relationships and how that is reflected in this event. It’s a super interesting event where The Ranchers play against the First Nations, so it embodies a contentious metaphor. In the last period the Ranchers wear chaps and hats and the First Nations come out in regalia and they engage in this really interesting performance of community.

    Another event is called the Heritage Cup that’s based in Barry’s Bay, Ontario. They have a really interesting settlement history along the Opeongo Colonization Road where different groups of settlers migrated. So they have different cultural groups in the area. In the tournament, the Irish, the Polish (Kashubian), the Algonquins, and the Germans make up the teams and they have a competition based on these ethnic groupings. The whole community comes out to the event dressed up and they have the four sections in the stands with all the colours from each team. It also embodies a lot of interesting symbolism and cultural practices that I don’t think people expect in small towns. So, there’s a lot of interesting elements of rural-ness and rural identity that are expressed. I’m just wrapping up those projects right now.

    Speed Round Ice Breakers:

    Are you involved in any clubs/associations?

    I play beer league hockey with a group of friends and I try to run a race every six months or so. I’m a bit of a weekend warrior with races. I’m there to do the race and have a good time and meet people.

    On the more professional side, I’m on the board for the Rural Development and Knowledge Mobilization Organization called the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation where we do lots of work with researchers and community members to try to build relationships and facilitate evidence-based decision making, knowledge translation, and all of those kinds of things.

    What is your favourite TV show right now?

    I don’t watch a ton of TV. I’m more of a binger where I’ll watch a show and then I won’t watch anything for a while. But if I were to pick my favourite show, I would have to say Vikings and a Spanish show called La casa de papel (Money Heist in English). It’s super interesting and I 100% recommend it!

    What are your current hobbies/interests?

    I jumped on the sourdough bandwagon and got a sourdough starter. I had a few successful and a few failed attempts but that was a new skill that I picked up during the pandemic. I also jumped into audio books recently. I never really read for fun because I read so much for work, so I usually don’t have much of a desire to pick up a book for a leisure read, but having the audio book option has made me much more inclined to just chill out and listen and not have to think about reading.

    What is your favourite book?

    This year I read a book called Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. It was written in 2014 but it was set in Toronto after there had been a global pandemic, which is super interesting and fitting to our current situation. It’s a completely fictitious story, it wasn’t meant to be a premonition, but it was a really interesting book.

    What is your favourite sport or sports team?

    My favourite sport is hockey but I’m not really one for pro sports. I don’t follow anyone too closely but I do indulge in the Olympics when they come around.

    Tags: , , , , , , ,
    Categories: Blog, Member Showcases

  • January Member Showcase: Dr. Shannon Kerwin

    Wednesday, January 27, 2021 | By

    We announce to you: Member Showcases!

    Every month we will showcase one of our amazing CSC members.

    You will have the opportunity to learn more about our members, and they will be able to showcase some of the interesting things that they are involved in that make the Centre for Sport Capacity such a unique place.

    Our January Member Showcase is Associate Professor with the Department of Sport Management at Brock University, Dr. Shannon Kerwin!

    We sat down (virtually) with Dr. Kerwin and learned a little more about her educational background, her passion for Human Resource Management, current research projects she is involved in, and some of her personal interests.

    Can you tell us a little bit about your background and what led you to specialize in your specific line of work?

    My passion for research started in my master’s program where I began to explore the dynamics that occur within volunteer boards of directors during decision making regarding sport programming. Over the years, I have come to realize the importance of understanding the people behind the governance of our sport system. This drive to uncover the mechanisms that foster productive, effective, and inclusive governance has continued to propel my research agenda moving forward.

    Can you tell us why you wanted to join the Centre for Sport Capacity and what you have gotten out of being part of the Centre so far?

    Membership with the CSC has provided me the opportunity to bridge my research with sport industry practice and enhance knowledge mobilization to the sport community.

    Can you speak about a class that you are teaching/a class you taught previously/one that you will be teaching soon?

    I teach Managing Human Resources in Sport Management. This is a third year class that introduces students to the broad array of HRM practices and policies they will encounter in the sport industry. The challenge of engaging students with the course content in this class really excites me. I understand the theory behind the work is not overly compelling, but I am also very passionate about the role that effective and compassionate HRM practices can have on the culture of a sport organization. I see the delivery of this content as my challenge to spark at least some thought in students to push them to be better. To push them to enter a sport organization and make their policies more inclusive; to challenge the status quo and increase internal communication to ensure more effective training and orientation; to understand the organizational-level benefits of creating thoughtful HRM strategies. If I can get at least 1-2 students to think differently about their role in sport because of the course, that “ignites my fire”.

    Can you speak about any recent, current, or future research projects that you are excited about?

    I am currently involved in two projects that are always a source of motivation for me. First, I am on a SSHRC grant with Dr. Dawn Trussell where we are embedded in sport Districts and learning about how each District governs their sport. We have a research team engaged in observations over a one year time period, which has allowed us to create invaluable connections with board members. The data, discussions, and connections we have collected and made are incredibly humbling. I am very privileged to work with this team and the participants.

    Second, my work with Canadian Women & Sport has opened my research to a formal connection as a Research Affiliate with e-Alliance: Gender Equity+ in Sport Research Hub. This work directly connects our academic research to movement towards enhancing gender equity in sport leadership and participation. This work is fulfilling for me personally and professionally.

    Speed-Round Ice Breakers:

    Are you involved in any clubs/associations?

    I coach both my children with Niagara United soccer.

    What is your favourite TV show right now?

    Lucifer on Netflix.

    What are your current hobbies/interests?

    I read a lot now. My favourite thing to do is sit with my 8 year old daughter at night and read side by side. I am currently reading Barak Obama’s book. It is great.

    What is your favourite book?

    I like the book just mentioned (although I am not finished it). I love the books by Chevy Stevens (a Canadian author).

    What is your favourite sport or sports team?

    My favourite sport to play is soccer. I grew up playing competitive soccer. My favourite sport to watch is basketball. Favourite team would be the Raptors.

    Now is the time to talk yourself up! what is something that you are proud of (awards, personal achievements, etc.) that you would like to share?

    I am not sure this is the right place for this, but I am honoured to have the job I have and work with the people I work with; both here at Brock and across the globe. The projects I have had the opportunity to work on have been fulfilling in their own right, but mostly because they have introduced me to wonderful individuals who have a passion for what I love – sport. These relationships that have been fostered are ones I will carry with me for a lifetime. I am most proud of these ‘achievements’.

    Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
    Categories: Blog, Member Showcases

1 2