About the Editor

Julie Stevens

Julie Stevens, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Sport Management at Brock University. For over 30 years, Julie’s research has focused upon change and system integration. She draws upon a unique interdisciplinary background that combines managerial perspectives to explore transformation within the sport system, as well as within contexts where sport crosses into other industries. Her diverse research employs various models of organizational development, and emphasizes various topics such as institutional development, large-scale change, innovation, governance, managerial logics and practices, player development models, and ethics. Julie is also a Faculty of Applied Health Sciences Research Excellence (2022) award recipient, North American Society for Sport Management Research Fellow (2013) and a Brock University Outstanding Co-op Supervisor Recognition Award (2020) recipient.

About the Authors

Isabelle Cayer

Isabelle Cayer is the current Director of Sport Safety at the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC). Her mission is to create a safer and more inclusive sport system for everyone. A former competitive athlete and NCCP certified coach, she is a current Coach Developer, facilitator, presenter and volunteer on a community sport board, and when the opportunity presents, at domestic national and international events. She has worked at the national level of sport for over 20 years at various organizations including the CAC and Skate Canada, and her work has focused on coach education and training, policy development, mentorship, women in coaching & leadership programming, diversity and inclusion initiatives for coach training and partner engagement, and the professionalization of coaching in Canada.

Isaiah Clelland

Isaiah Clelland is completing his Masters of Arts (Sport Management) at Brock University, and will continue his graduate work as a PhD Candidate in the Recreation and Leisure Studies program at the University of Waterloo. His master’s research used autoethnographic methods to analyze the experience of a community sport coach over the course of a year following the news of a maltreatment report. Isaiah is passionate about combining his love for coaching and sport with research that challenges the existing rhythms and practices of sport organizations where the vast majority of participants are engaged.

Maureen Connolly

Maureen Connolly, PhD, is a Professor of Physical Education and Kinesiology, in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at Brock University. Her ongoing interests include narrative, arts based, trauma-informed, and bodily expressive modalities and how these function across scholarly, pedagogic, and activist outlets. A university and national teaching award winner and a 2009 Erasmus Mundus scholar, Maureen’s research areas include curriculum, stressed embodiment, dance & movement education, and Freirian approaches to teaching and learning. Her theoretical dispositions are phenomenological, semiotic, anti-ableist, irreverent, and quixotic. Maureen enjoys training, reading, writing, laughing, and authentic interpersonal engagement.

Karri Dawson

Karri Dawson is an accomplished professional with over 25 years of experience in the not-for-profit and charitable sport sectors. She is deeply passionate about creating positive sport experiences that maximize benefits for both participants and communities. Throughout her career, Karri has made significant contributions to all levels of Canadian sport, earning a reputation as an inspiring leader, innovative project manager, strategic visionary, and skilled policy specialist. Her commitment to advancing a values-based approach to sport, promoting clean sport, and driving cultural transformation through education and prevention has established her as a true catalyst for change, both nationally and internationally. For the past nine years, Karri has contributed her expertise by serving on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Education Committee. Closer to home, she actively gives back to the Canadian sport community, mentoring emerging leaders and volunteering with a range of organizations and committees.

Alison Doherty

Alison Doherty, PhD, is a Professor of Sport Management in the School of Kinesiology at Western University. Her research focuses on capacity and management for safe and inclusive sport and physical activity, and has been supported by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).  

Michele K. Donnelly

Michele K. Donnelly, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Sport Management at Brock University, specializing in areas of gender equality and sport. Michele also researches topics of alternative sport, girls and women-only activities in the sport realm, and research ethics. She is the co-founder and serves on the advisory board of the Girls on Track Foundation, whose mission is to help young girls build important life skills through participation in roller derby.

Peter Donnelly

Peter Donnelly, PhD, is a Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto. He has edited two major sociology of sport journals (Sociology of Sport Journal; International Review for the Sociology of Sport), and served as President of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport, and General Secretary of the International Sociology of Sport Association. He began researching the maltreatment of athletes when he taught at McMaster University in the 1980s, and has continued that strand of research (among many others) by focusing in particular on the maltreatment of child athletes.

Hilary Findlay

Hilary Findlay, LLB PhD, is a retired Associate Professor of Sport Management at Brock who specializes in risk management, regulatory issues, contracts and other legal issues affecting sport and recreation organization.

Susan Forbes

Susan L. Forbes, PhD, is the Manager of the Teaching and Learning Centre, as well as an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Ontario. Her research focuses on sports officials’ recruitment, development, retention, and attrition. She and her research partners recently published the book entitled Sports Officiating: Recruitment, Development and Retention (Routledge, 2020).

Gretchen Kerr

Gretchen Kerr, PhD, is a Dean and Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto. She has spent her academic career devoted to promoting safe and equitable sport opportunities for all through research and knowledge transfer and exchange. As a co-Director of E-Alliance, the Canadian Gender Equity in Sport Research Hub, Gretchen is engaged in establishing a broad network of researchers and partnerships across the country to advance gender equity in sport. Gretchen was the senior author of Canada’s first national prevalence study of maltreatment among current and former national team members, and the subject matter expert for the development of the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment (UCCMS), and a contributor to Safe Sport education.

Bruce Kidd

Bruce Kidd, PhD, is the Ombudsperson at the University of Toronto. He is a Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, and the founding Dean of that faculty. He also served as Warden of Hart House, Principal of the University of Toronto Scarborough and Director of Canadian Studies, all at U of T. Bruce’s scholarship focuses upon the history and political economy of Canadian and Olympic sport. He has been involved in the Olympic Movement as an athlete (1964), journalist (1976), contributor to the arts and culture programs (1976 and 1988) and accredited social scientist (1988 and 2000). He was founding chair of the Olympic Academy of Canada (1983-1993), served on the board for Toronto’s 1996 and 2008 Olympic bids and is an honorary member of the Canadian Olympic Committee. Bruce has been a lifelong advocate of human rights and athletes’ rights.

Kasey Liboiron

Kasey Liboiron is the Manager of Sport Community Engagement at the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES). In this role, she manages the outreach and engagement of True Sport. The True Sport Principles define Canada’s commitment to values-based sport and are activated and supported by Canadian communities, sport organizations, schools, groups and individuals who believe in the difference good sport can make. Previously, Kasey worked as a secondary school Physical and Health Educator – particularly passionate about inspiring a commitment to physical activity and wellness. Kasey holds Bachelors of Education, Science, and Physical and Health Education from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Lori Livingston

Lori A. Livingston, PhD, is the Provost and Vice-President, Academic and Full Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ontario Tech University. She has participated as an athlete, coach, official, and administrator at the provincial, national, and international levels in the sport of women’s field lacrosse. She continues to contribute to sport through her research, including work in the area of sport officiating.

Eric MacIntosh

Eric MacIntosh, PhD, is a Professor of Sport Management in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa. His research focuses on organizational behaviour topics including culture, leadership, socialization and development. His research has been supported by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). He is co-author of Organizational Behaviour in Sport published by Human Kinetics. 

Ellen MacPherson

Ellen MacPherson, PhD, is a Senior Research Associate in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on social behaviour in sport and online contexts, as well as athlete welfare and development. Ellen has been recognized internationally by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) with the Sport Psychologist’s Young Researcher Award and her work has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). As the former Director, Safe Sport at Gymnastics Canada, she led the development and implementation of an organizational Safe Sport Framework and the corresponding policy, education, and advocacy initiatives. In her current role at the University of Toronto, she conducts research and works with sport organizations to mobilize knowledge into practice with the ultimate goal of safe, developmentally appropriate, and equitable sport for all.

Taylor McKee

Taylor McKee, PhD, is a researcher committed to analyzing the sociocultural intersections of sport and society. He is dedicated to nurturing his students’ sense of intellectual curiosity, while helping them develop the academic skillset needed for success in Sport Management. Taylor has published on topics including Olympic History, Sport and Residential Schools, Hockey History, Monuments and Historical Memory, and Masculinity in Hockey. He is a versatile researcher with a passion for sport, education, and collaboration.   

Leela MadhavaRau

Leela MadhavaRau has served as the inaugural leader of equity, diversity and human rights initiatives at three different universities in both Canada and the United States, mostly recently as the Executive Director of Human Rights and Equity at Brock University. Leela’s expertise in the areas of equity, diversity and inclusion has provided her with the opportunity to present at many national and international conferences, as well as becoming a mentor for individuals beginning their careers in this field.

Marcus Mazzucco

Marcus Mazzucco, JD, is Legal Counsel for the Ontario Ministry of Health and an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education. Marcus has a Bachelor of Physical and Health Education from the University of Toronto and a Juris Doctor from the University of Victoria, British Columbia. The opinions and views expressed in this chapter are solely those of the author and do not represent the opinions or views of the Ontario Government.

Peter Niedre

Peter Niedre is the Director of Education Partnerships at the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC), and oversees the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP). This role involves working with over 65 National Sport Organizations, 13 Provincial and Territorial Coach representatives and other Canadian Sport System Partners in development and delivery of the NCCP. Prior to the CAC, he worked at Canoe Kayak Canada as the National Junior coach, and Director of Coach and Athlete Development. Prior to that, he was a physical education and outdoor education teacher at the secondary level for 10 years, and part-time lecturer at University of Ottawa in the School of Human Kinetics. Peter is also a Master Coach Developer in sprint Canoe Kayak and in multisport delivery with the Coaches Association of Ontario and actively volunteers at the community level coaching cross country skiing and biathlon.

Talia Ritondo

Talia Ritondo, MA, is a third-year, SSHRC-funded PhD student in Human Kinetics. She is co-supervised by Dr. Francine Darroch in the Department of Health Science at Carleton University. Her research is contributing to Dr. Darroch (PI) and Dr. Giles’ (Co-I) SSHRC-funded research on elite athletics and pregnancy. She is examining the nexus of pregnancy, safe sport, and human rights. Talia completed her Master of Arts in Recreation and Leisure Studies at Brock University. Her thesis critically examined postnatal women’s community team sport participation. During the year between her MA and PhD, she was Brock’s Gender & Sexual Violence Education Coordinator. For her leisure, Talia plays competitive beach volleyball and enjoys weightlifting, baking, video games, and board games.

Kirsty Spence

Kirsty Spence, PhD, has a 20-year background of researching leadership topics and more specifically, leaders’ vertical development and its relationship to leadership effectiveness and program development. She is passionate about Safe Sport topics, having completed Master’s-level research on an inter-organizational network analysis of the implementation of the Speak Out! Program within Hockey Canada in 2001. Dr. Spence has received the Professional Coaching Certification (P.C.C.) designation with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) as a certified Integral Master Coach™.

Jeff Tiessen

Jeff Tiessen, PLY, is a double-arm ampute, Paralympic gold-medalist and world record holder. He is the founder of Disability Today Publishing Group, where his work as a publisher, producer and writer has primarily focused on the disability community, delivering content for living life actively and independently. He is an award-winning journalist, with over 1,000 published features, and an inductee in the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame, the Windsor-Essex County Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Windsor Sports Hall of Fame. He is also a recipient of the Senate of Canada’s Sesquicentennial Medal. A former Executive Director of ParaSport Ontario, Tiessen is an educator and advocate. As a presenter and facilitator, Tiessen provides audiences with disability literacy education from the lived-experience perspective.

Georgina Truman

Georgina Truman, is a dedicated member of the public service, where she plays a pivotal role in advancing initiatives that support Indigenous communities across Canada. With a strong foundation in client relations, Georgina has consistently demonstrated her commitment to fostering inclusive and impactful initiatives. An alumna of the University of Ottawa with a masters degree in sport management, Georgina combines academic insight with practical experience to drive meaningful change. Her contributions extend beyond her current role; notably, with AthletesCAN, she collaborated on the national safe sport summit that brought together athletes to develop athlete-centred safe sport recommendations, the revival of the Canadian Sport Awards to celebrate Canadian excellence in sport, and contributed to the development of multiple resources emphasizing the importance of athlete representation in national sport organizations, athlete rights, and the importance of safe sporting environments. Georgina’s work reflects a deep-seated commitment to community engagement, policy development, and the promotion of ethical practices within Canada’s public and non-profit sport sectors.

Michael Van Bussel

Michael Van Bussel, PhD, has over 18 years of academic, administrative, and service experience in Sport Management. His educational background includes a PhD focusing on Sport Law and Policy Studies from Western University.  He held faculty positions at Jacksonville University and Wilfrid Laurier University in the field of Sport Management.  He has won awards in teaching and coaching and was named OUA (USPORT) Provincial Coach of the Year on two separate occasions with the Western University Women’s Soccer Program.  His research interests include sport law, risk management, governance and policy, and coach/athlete communication.

Erin Willson

Erin Willson, MSc, is an Olympian in Artistic Swimming. She earned a PhD and is completing a postdoctoral fellowship, each in safe sport, at the University of Toronto. Her pursuit of academics was initially informed by her experiences as an athlete, both positive and negative. She has researched topics including the prevalence of maltreatment in Canada, and the effects of emotional abuse, body shaming, gender-based violence, and exploring the use of positive coaching styles to address maltreatment. Through her board experience at AthletesCAN, particularly during her three years as president, she is a fierce advocate for athlete rights, including well-being, safety in sport, and athlete representation, ensuring that the athletes are at the heart of the sport system.