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CALS

CALS Executive and Board of Directors 2014-2017

Executive

President: Heather Mair (University of Waterloo)

Heather Mair is Associate Professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo. Her research and teaching interests include: the role of recreation, leisure and tourism in community development, critical approaches to leisure and tourism research, the role of sport in rural community life, issues of diversity in sport and food-related social movements. Heather served as the Vice President/Treasurer of CALS from 2005 to 2014. More information can be found HERE.

Past-President: Bryan Smale (University of Waterloo)

Bryan Smale is a Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies and Director of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing housed in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. He is a cross-appointed Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at UW and a Research Faculty Associate in the Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience (WISIR). He currently is President of the Ontario Research Council on Leisure (ORCOL), sits on the Board of Directors of Parks and Recreation Ontario (PRO), and is a member of Research Data Canada's Steering Committee and Statistics Canada’s Advisory Committee on Social Conditions. He is Editor-in-Chief of Leisure/Loisir and a member of the Editorial Board for the Encyclopaedia of Quality of Life and Wellbeing Research. His research programme and teaching focuses on the role of leisure in the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities, the spatial distribution and analysis of leisure opportunities in communities, time use allocation, social indicators research, innovative applications of multiple research methods, and multivariate statistical techniques and applications.

Treasurer/VP: Dawn Trussell (Brock University)

Dawn Trussell is an Assistant Professor at Brock University in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies and is a member of the Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies program committee. Her research focuses on diverse social contexts and issues of power and social inclusion, particularly related to constructs of family, gender, sexuality, age, and rurality. She is currently working on two projects funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). The first project seeks to understand the complexities of non-traditional family structures within the social realm of organized youth sport, notably families of gay and lesbian parents. Dawn is also working with a research team from Concordia University that is examining the nexus of public policy and leisure for women as they experience the transition to motherhood. She has served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Leisure Research since 2011. More information can be found HERE.

Secretary: Karen Gallant (Dalhousie University)

Karen Gallant is an Assistant Professor in the School of Health and Human Performance at Dalhousie University. She holds a Ph.D. in Recreation and Leisure Studies (University of Waterloo), an M.Sc. in Rural Planning (University of Guelph) and undergraduate degrees in Journalism (B.J., University of King’s College) and Chemistry (B.Sc.Hons, Mount Allison University). Her research interests are broadly focused on the connections between recreation and leisure, community development, and civic engagement. In particular, her current research is primarily focused on the role of volunteers and the voluntary sector in community building, and the inclusion of marginalized populations in communities, especially recreation settings. More information can be found HERE.

 

Directors

Rebecca Genoe (University of Regina)

is an assistant professor in the University of Regina’s Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies.  She has a Ph.D. in Recreation and Leisure Studies (Aging, Health, and Well-being specialization – University of Waterloo), an M.A. in Leisure Studies (Dalhousie University) and a B.A. in Recreation and Leisure Studies (University of Waterloo).  Rebecca teaches in the area of Therapeutic Recreation and her research is in the area of leisure and aging, focusing specifically on the experience and meaning of leisure engagement for older adults and leisure’s role in coping.  Current research projects include: (a) the role of leisure in COPD, and (b) the relevance of theories of aging among retiring baby boomers.  Rebecca serves as secretary for the Regina Therapeutic Recreation Association.  She is also a member of the Canadian Therapeutic Recreation Association, the Canadian Association on Gerontology, and the Gerontological Society of America. More can be found HERE.

Elizabeth Halpenny (University of Alberta)

is an assistant professor at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation.  She has a Ph.D. in Recreation and Leisure Studies (University of Waterloo), a M.E.S. in Environmental Studies (York University), and a B.A. in Geography (Wilfrid Laurier University.). She currently teaches and conducts research in the areas of tourism, marketing and protected areas planning and management. Elizabeth’s research interests and projects are often related to individual's interactions with nature environments, sense of place, and environmental stewardship. Current research projects include: (a) nature-based volunteerism, (b) the affect of mobile digital technologies on tourists’ visitation experiences, (c) individual’s attitudes towards and use of natural areas, and (d) the relationship between World Heritage designation and tourism development.  Elizabeth has strong ties with the parks practitioner community; she currently serves as membership director for the IUCN-WCPA Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group. Other memberships include: Tourism and Travel Research Association - Canada Chapter and the International Association for Society and Natural Resources. More information can be found HERE.

 

Howie Harshaw (University of Alberta)

is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Physical Education & Recreation at the University of Alberta. He examines the human dimensions of natural resources, with an emphasis on outdoor recreation in an effort to understand the relationships that people have with nature, and to investigate the interactions of resource development and quality of life. Howie integrates social science into the planning and management of natural resources, and has worked regularly in interdisciplinary teams to provide theoretically based empirical research contributions to broader landscape-based projects examining sustainability issues. Throughout his research, Howie has worked with communities, municipal and provincial governments, and industry to better represent the views and attitudes of the public in policy and operational decisions. Working with these same groups, Howie has also helped to raise the profile of outdoor recreation issues and concerns with regard to broader land-use planning initiatives and strategies. Howie has contributed to the development and assessment of criteria and indicators for outdoor recreation in the planning of resource-integrated forested landscape planning in BC for government and the forest industry. Howie has been the Chair of the Outdoor Recreation Council of British Columbia, and has served as a CALS director since 2011. More information can be found HERE.

 

Shannon Hebblethwaite (Concordia University)

is Associate Professor in Concordia University’s Department of Applied Human Sciences. Her research and teaching focuses on social inclusion and the impact of leisure on well-being in a variety of contexts, including older adults, three-generation families, first-time mothers, and individuals with disabilities. Emphasizing participatory approaches in her work, Shannon’s applied research has resulted in interdisciplinary collaborations with scholars in family relations, political science, and communication studies and she has engaged therapeutic recreation practitioners as co-researchers on a number of research projects. She integrates her research with her teaching in the areas of qualitative research methods, leisure and aging, and therapeutic recreation practice. Shannon is a researcher with the Centre de recherche et d'expertise en gérontologie sociale (CREGÉS), an interdisciplinary, applied, community-based research centre where she leads the Seniors as Social Actors research axis and serves on the executive committee. She is Associate Editor of the Therapeutic Recreation Journal and leads the Interdisciplinary Working Group on Qualitative Research Methods at Concordia. She was part of the organizing committee and co-editor of the Book of Abstracts for CCLR 12. She served on the board of Therapeutic Recreation Ontario (TRO) and is a member of the Leisure and Aging Research Group, the World Leisure Organization Committee on Access and Inclusion, and the Alzheimer Society of Montreal Education Committee.

Paul Heintzman (University of Ottawa)

is an Associate Professor of Leisure Studies at the University of Ottawa where he is also cross-appointed in the Department of Geography and an Affiliate Professor in the Institute of the Environment. He worked as a recreation practitioner for many years throughout Canada before completing his PhD at the University of Waterloo. Paul previously taught at Acadia and Brock Universities.  He is recipient of the AALR Literary, SPRE Teaching Innovation, CSKLS Literary and CSKLS Distinguished Service Awards as well as the WLRA Rivers International Scholarship. Paul is author of the book Leisure and Spirituality, editor of the CCLR9 Book of Abstracts, co-editor of the book Christianity and Leisure, guest editor of a special issue of Leisure/Loisir on leisure and spirituality; and author of numerous publications on leisure and spirituality; recreation and the environment; and the philosophy and ethics of leisure. He has served as Assistant Editor of JARR, ORCOL Treasurer, member of the CCLR9 planning committee and Chair of the AALR Student Literary Award Committee. Currently he is an Associate Editor of Leisure/Loisir and a board member of both ORCOL and CALS. More information can be found HERE.

 

Susan Hutchinson (Dalhousie University)

(Ph.D., University of Georgia) is an Associate Professor cross-appointed in the Health Promotion and Recreation and Leisure Studies departments within the School of Health and Human Performance at Dalhousie University. Her applied health research focuses on identifying ways to promote health and well-being amongst older adults and others living with chronic health conditions. She is leading a CIHR Partnerships for Health System Improvement team development grant to bring together researchers and professionals to address chronic disease prevention and management through intersectoral collaborations in Nova Scotia communities and is a co-investigator on three applied health research projects to support chronic disease self-management and the mental health promotion needs of vulnerable seniors who are socially isolated. As well as serving as a reviewer for many different journal publications, Susan has served as an Associate Editor for the Therapeutic Recreation Journal and Leisure Sciences since 2000. More information can be found HERE.

 

Marc-André Lavigne (Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières)

is a Professor at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières’ Département d’études en loisir, culture et tourisme. He holds a Ph.D. in public administration (ÉNAP) and specialises in local governance and urban policy analysis. He is currently the co-director of the Observatoire québécois du loisir – a research group dedicated to disseminating and popularising knowledge on leisure to the general public, leisure professionals and the media – and a member of the Laboratoire en loisir et vie communautaire, a research group working with Québec’s leisure and recreation main partners (including the provincial Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sport) to provide applied research to leisure organizations across the province. He holds a particular interest in understanding the relationship between civil society actors, public administration and elected officials, and their role in the formulation and implementation of policies and programs specific to our field. In his teaching, he shows a particular interest in the strategic management of public, non-profit and private leisure organizations and in the role of leisure professionals in our society. More can be found HERE.

Anne-Marie Sullivan (Memorial University of Newfoundland)

is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Human Kinetics & Recreation at Memorial University of Newfoundland.  Recently, Anne-Marie teaches Ethics in RLS, Leadership, and a number of TR courses. She has been instrumental in the development of a TR program at Memorial which allows students to meet the requirements for certification through NCTRC.  Presently, she is focused on three research areas including family leisure, scope of TR practice in NL, and community recreation for newcomers to NL/Atlantic Canada.  More can be found HERE.

Colleen Whyte (Brock University)

is a faculty member in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at Brock University. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Recreation and Leisure Studies from Brock University, an M.A. degree in Leisure Studies from Dalhousie University and a Ph.D. in Recreation and Leisure Studies from the University of Waterloo. Her research program is focused within the area of leisure and aging. She is particularly interested in understanding the lived experiences of older adults within Canadian society, and the contributions of recreation and leisure to personal quality of living for older adults. Her past research projects have examined the impact of move to a long-term care home, meanings of leisure from the perspectives of persons living with dementia, and the experiences of belonging and sense of community for residents in a long-term care home. Colleen has been a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (C.T.R.S) since 2000, and was previously employed as a Recreation Therapist working in out-patient rehabilitation, in-patient mental health, and geriatric services within the Ontario health-care system. She has been involved with Therapeutic Recreation Ontario (TRO) since 2006 and the Ontario Interdisciplinary Council for Aging and Health since 2012. More can be found HERE.

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Membership

For information on becoming a member of CALS, please contact Bryan Smale at smale@uwaterloo.ca