Speaker Bios
Key Note Speaker
Dr. Julia Alleyne - From Playground to Podium: Where does prevention have impact?
Dr. Julia Alleyne is a Family Physician practising Sport and Exercise Medicine at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network. In addition, she trained as a physiotherapist and maintained an active license for 30 years. She is appointed at the University of Toronto, Department of Family and Community Medicine as an associate clinical professor.
As a team physician, Julia has provided medical leadership to Skate Canada and Gymnastics Canada over the last 20 years where her focus has been on “Care of the Athlete” . She has served on the medical staff for 5 Canadian Olympic teams including Chief Medical Officer for the 2012 Canadian Olympic Team in London, England. Dr. Alleyne’s current appointment is as the Chief Medical Officer for the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games in Ontario which will be an opportunity to welome 41 countries and over 7500 athletes. Within this role, she is responsible for the planning and delivery of host medical services, emergency planning, public health prevention and the anti-doping program.
She is the past chair of the Education Commission for the International Sport Medicine Federation and the past President of the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine (2003). She was honoured by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport and Physical Activity as a recipient of the 2003 Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity Award
Session Speakers
Pamela Fuselli - A Matter of Degree: Changes, Challenges & Opportunities for Integrating Injury Prevention with Risk in Play
Pamela Fuselli became the Vice President, Knowledge Transfer and Stakeholder Relations in July 2012 when Parachute was created from the amalgamation of four national injury prevention organizations. Before that, Pamela spent 13 years at Safe Kids Canada, most recently as Executive Director. She received her BSC in Psychology from the University of Toronto in 1992, her BHA (2002) from Ryerson University and MSc (2010) in Creativity and Change Leadership from the State University of New York College at Buffalo. Pamela’s areas of interest are centered on the uptake of knowledge resulting in behaviour change, the impact of good public policy on injury prevention and the importance of collaboration to further the goal of injury reduction.
Dr. Shalina Babul - The Online Concussion Training Toolkit
Dr. Shelina Babul is the Associate Director and Sports Injury Specialist for the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit and is involved in various injury prevention strategies and initiatives. She focuses primarily on sport & recreational evidence-based research, with a particular specialization in the area of concussion/minor traumatic brain injuries and their prevention, recognition, treatment and management. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, UBC; an Investigator with the Child & Family Research Institute; chair of the BC Concussion Advisory Network (BC CAN); and co-chair of the BC Sport and Recreation Injury Prevention Advisory Committee.
Dr. Nick Reed - A Multi-Modal Approach to Assessing Recovery in Youth Athletes Following Concussion
Dr. Reed completed his Bachelor of Kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, his Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy within the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto, and his PhD within the Graduate Department of Rehabilitation Science at the University of Toronto. Currently, Dr. Reed is a Clinician Scientist and occupational therapist within the Bloorview Research Institute at the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital where he is involved in the development and implementation of a concussion clinical service and research program. Dr. Reed is also an Assistant Professor within the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto. His work focuses on developing, delivering and evaluating clinical and educational programs specific to youth and concussion. In addition to his research and clinical work, Dr. Reed has lived a life immersed in competitive sport, and more specifically, competitive contact sport. Playing competitive lacrosse from the age of five, he has participated at all levels of the sport and has spent 12 years coaching minor lacrosse within the Toronto area.
Dr. Lori A. Livingston - Shifting the Paradigm - Getting the Horse Back in Front of the Cart
Dr. Lori Livingston is a Full Professor and the Dean of the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences at Lakehead University. A physical educator, biomechanist, and statistician by training, her research has spanned a broad range of topics including clinical biomechanics, injury prevention, physical activity, coaching, and sports officiating.
Dr. Susan L. Forbes - Shifting the Paradigm - Getting the Horse Back in Front of the Cart
Dr. Susan Forbes is an Adjunct Faculty Member in the Department of Women’s Studies and the School of Kinesiology and Lakehead University, as well as the Research Program for the Play Safe Initiative and the Play It Cool Coach Education Safety Program. A former faculty member in the Department of Physical Education and Kinesiology at Brock University, her research has addressed a variety of topics including injury prevention, women’s sport and recreation history, and sports officiating.
Mercedes Watson - Coaches, The National Coaching Certification Program, and Injury Prevention
Mercedes is one of the Coach & Partner Development leads at the Coaches Association of Ontario. A lover of all sports, she believes strongly in the importance of coach education, and is dedicated to helping other coaches improve their skills and capabilities. Mercedes is also no stranger to the world of injury prevention, receiving her Masters of Kinesiology from the University of British Columbia after completing a major study on coaches and injury prevention in ice hockey. An advocate for all sport, health, and recreation she is excited by any opportunities to make sport and recreation safer.
Kathy Belton - Alberta’s Experience with Safety Guidelines for School Physical Activity and Sport
Kathy is the Associate Director for the Injury Prevention Centre, formerly the Alberta Centre for Injury Control & Research. Her areas of interest are knowledge translation, motor vehicle and farm-related injuries and falls prevention for seniors. Kathy has Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) Degree and a Masters of Education specializing in Adult education from the University of Alberta. She has over 25 years of experience in the field of injury prevention.
Matt Doherty - Injury Prevention & Sport Safety in Lacrosse
Matt Doherty is the Promotions Director at the Provincial Sport Organization the Ontario Lacrosse Association (OLA). Matt's educational background includes a Bachelor of Commerce Honours Degree, with a specialization in Marketing from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) and a Graduate Certificate in Sport Business Management from Durham College. Although Matt's main job responsibilities include marketing, promotions, communications and events, he recently lead the OLA towards sport safety as a strategic initiative. Matt believes that if he can dispel the myth that the sport of lacrosse is unsafe then he can better promote the participation in lacrosse to the general population. Matt strongly believes that injury prevention plays a key role in sport safety and that the play safe initiative allows sports organizations to take a proactive approach to risk management and sports injuries.
Chris Markham - Advancing Safety Together: Strengthening Safety in Sport, Recreation and After School Programs
Chris Markham is the Executive Director and CEO of Ophea. Through partnerships, advocacy and its products and services Ophea works with schools and communities to enable kids to lead healthy, active lives. Ophea’s products and services include curricular lesson plans, activity ideas, visual supports, reference materials and the Ontario Safety Guidelines. Ophea’s Safety Guidelines are used in all Ontario Schools and represent the minimum standards for risk management practice for school boards. They focus the attention of teachers, intramural supervisors and coaches on safe practices, in every activity, in order to minimize the element of risk. Over the past 17 years Chris has worked with a dedicated staff to build the capacity and reputation of the organization.
Rhona McGlasson - The FIFA 11+ neuromuscular training warm‐up program: from evidence to implementation
Rhona McGlasson is the Executive Director of Bone and Joint Canada. Under her leadership Bone and Joint Canada has been successful in building the knowledge translation network for orthopaedic care across the country. This work has included the implementation of national initiatives to change clinical practice for hip and knee replacement in 2006 – 20011 and hip fracture in 2011 – 13. In both cases work was undertaken in the 10 provinces across Canada leading to the Knowledge translation award from CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis in 2013. Rhona is a physiotherapist who has extensive experience working in public and privately funded clinics to provide rehabilitation for individuals who have experienced an injury. Through recent funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation she is leading a project to work with sports teams and health care professionals across Ontario to reduce knee and ankle injury rates for youth soccer players. Rhona received her physiotherapy diploma from Withington Hospital in 1988 and her degree from the University of Greenwich, London in 1998. She also received her M.B.A from Edinburgh Business School in 2002.
Barbara Byers - The Convergence of the Developing Teen Brain, Risk Taking and Swim to Survive+
Barbara Byers brings over 10 years of marketing and advertising experience to her current roles as the Public Education Director for the Lifesaving Society and the Research Director for the Drowning Prevention Research Centre – Canada. Barbara is responsible for leading the collection, analysis and dissemination of water incident research in Canada. This scientific evidence-based data is used to guide the development of drowning prevention initiatives. Barbara is responsible for developing the strategic and executional components for the Lifesaving Society’s annual Water Smart campaign, directed at changing the behaviour of Canadians to prevent drowning and water-related injuries. She is also the media spokesperson. Barbara is the Past Chair of the Canadian Safe Boating Council, the Chair of the PFD Taskforce and Chair of Educational Programs for the CSBC. She is a current member of the International Lifesaving Federation’s Child Drowning Committee, a past member of the ILS Drowning Report committee and one of the principal authors of the 2007 World Drowning Report. Barbara is also a director on the National Water Safety Congress in the USA. Barbara lives in Toronto Ontario Canada. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a degree in Business Administration and has been with the Lifesaving Society for 20 years. Prior her position with the Lifesaving Society, Barbara had marketing/advertising positions with Warner Lambert and the Leo Burnett advertising agency.
Patti Funaro and Julie Augustine - A Manufacturing Approach to Safety in Sport and Recreation
Patti Funaro and Julie Augustine both work as supervisors in the Culture and Recreation Department for the Town of LaSalle. The Town of LaSalle's pride is the Vollmer Culture and Recreation Complex. Situated on 189 acres, the Vollmer Complex offers two ice pads, a leisure pool, a fitness centre, numerous multi-purpose rooms, 26 soccer fields, 10 baseball diamonds, an outdoor amphitheatre and festival plaza, a skateboard park, 2 outdoor pavilions and numerous kilometers of paved and unpaved trails. Together, Patti and Julie manage the programs and services offered by the Department of Culture and Recreation. Combined, they have over 30 years experience in the sport and recreation field.
Dr. Julia Alleyne - From Playground to Podium: Where does prevention have impact?
Dr. Julia Alleyne is a Family Physician practising Sport and Exercise Medicine at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network. In addition, she trained as a physiotherapist and maintained an active license for 30 years. She is appointed at the University of Toronto, Department of Family and Community Medicine as an associate clinical professor.
As a team physician, Julia has provided medical leadership to Skate Canada and Gymnastics Canada over the last 20 years where her focus has been on “Care of the Athlete” . She has served on the medical staff for 5 Canadian Olympic teams including Chief Medical Officer for the 2012 Canadian Olympic Team in London, England. Dr. Alleyne’s current appointment is as the Chief Medical Officer for the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games in Ontario which will be an opportunity to welome 41 countries and over 7500 athletes. Within this role, she is responsible for the planning and delivery of host medical services, emergency planning, public health prevention and the anti-doping program.
She is the past chair of the Education Commission for the International Sport Medicine Federation and the past President of the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine (2003). She was honoured by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport and Physical Activity as a recipient of the 2003 Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity Award
Session Speakers
Pamela Fuselli - A Matter of Degree: Changes, Challenges & Opportunities for Integrating Injury Prevention with Risk in Play
Pamela Fuselli became the Vice President, Knowledge Transfer and Stakeholder Relations in July 2012 when Parachute was created from the amalgamation of four national injury prevention organizations. Before that, Pamela spent 13 years at Safe Kids Canada, most recently as Executive Director. She received her BSC in Psychology from the University of Toronto in 1992, her BHA (2002) from Ryerson University and MSc (2010) in Creativity and Change Leadership from the State University of New York College at Buffalo. Pamela’s areas of interest are centered on the uptake of knowledge resulting in behaviour change, the impact of good public policy on injury prevention and the importance of collaboration to further the goal of injury reduction.
Dr. Shalina Babul - The Online Concussion Training Toolkit
Dr. Shelina Babul is the Associate Director and Sports Injury Specialist for the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit and is involved in various injury prevention strategies and initiatives. She focuses primarily on sport & recreational evidence-based research, with a particular specialization in the area of concussion/minor traumatic brain injuries and their prevention, recognition, treatment and management. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, UBC; an Investigator with the Child & Family Research Institute; chair of the BC Concussion Advisory Network (BC CAN); and co-chair of the BC Sport and Recreation Injury Prevention Advisory Committee.
Dr. Nick Reed - A Multi-Modal Approach to Assessing Recovery in Youth Athletes Following Concussion
Dr. Reed completed his Bachelor of Kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, his Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy within the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto, and his PhD within the Graduate Department of Rehabilitation Science at the University of Toronto. Currently, Dr. Reed is a Clinician Scientist and occupational therapist within the Bloorview Research Institute at the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital where he is involved in the development and implementation of a concussion clinical service and research program. Dr. Reed is also an Assistant Professor within the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto. His work focuses on developing, delivering and evaluating clinical and educational programs specific to youth and concussion. In addition to his research and clinical work, Dr. Reed has lived a life immersed in competitive sport, and more specifically, competitive contact sport. Playing competitive lacrosse from the age of five, he has participated at all levels of the sport and has spent 12 years coaching minor lacrosse within the Toronto area.
Dr. Lori A. Livingston - Shifting the Paradigm - Getting the Horse Back in Front of the Cart
Dr. Lori Livingston is a Full Professor and the Dean of the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences at Lakehead University. A physical educator, biomechanist, and statistician by training, her research has spanned a broad range of topics including clinical biomechanics, injury prevention, physical activity, coaching, and sports officiating.
Dr. Susan L. Forbes - Shifting the Paradigm - Getting the Horse Back in Front of the Cart
Dr. Susan Forbes is an Adjunct Faculty Member in the Department of Women’s Studies and the School of Kinesiology and Lakehead University, as well as the Research Program for the Play Safe Initiative and the Play It Cool Coach Education Safety Program. A former faculty member in the Department of Physical Education and Kinesiology at Brock University, her research has addressed a variety of topics including injury prevention, women’s sport and recreation history, and sports officiating.
Mercedes Watson - Coaches, The National Coaching Certification Program, and Injury Prevention
Mercedes is one of the Coach & Partner Development leads at the Coaches Association of Ontario. A lover of all sports, she believes strongly in the importance of coach education, and is dedicated to helping other coaches improve their skills and capabilities. Mercedes is also no stranger to the world of injury prevention, receiving her Masters of Kinesiology from the University of British Columbia after completing a major study on coaches and injury prevention in ice hockey. An advocate for all sport, health, and recreation she is excited by any opportunities to make sport and recreation safer.
Kathy Belton - Alberta’s Experience with Safety Guidelines for School Physical Activity and Sport
Kathy is the Associate Director for the Injury Prevention Centre, formerly the Alberta Centre for Injury Control & Research. Her areas of interest are knowledge translation, motor vehicle and farm-related injuries and falls prevention for seniors. Kathy has Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) Degree and a Masters of Education specializing in Adult education from the University of Alberta. She has over 25 years of experience in the field of injury prevention.
Matt Doherty - Injury Prevention & Sport Safety in Lacrosse
Matt Doherty is the Promotions Director at the Provincial Sport Organization the Ontario Lacrosse Association (OLA). Matt's educational background includes a Bachelor of Commerce Honours Degree, with a specialization in Marketing from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) and a Graduate Certificate in Sport Business Management from Durham College. Although Matt's main job responsibilities include marketing, promotions, communications and events, he recently lead the OLA towards sport safety as a strategic initiative. Matt believes that if he can dispel the myth that the sport of lacrosse is unsafe then he can better promote the participation in lacrosse to the general population. Matt strongly believes that injury prevention plays a key role in sport safety and that the play safe initiative allows sports organizations to take a proactive approach to risk management and sports injuries.
Chris Markham - Advancing Safety Together: Strengthening Safety in Sport, Recreation and After School Programs
Chris Markham is the Executive Director and CEO of Ophea. Through partnerships, advocacy and its products and services Ophea works with schools and communities to enable kids to lead healthy, active lives. Ophea’s products and services include curricular lesson plans, activity ideas, visual supports, reference materials and the Ontario Safety Guidelines. Ophea’s Safety Guidelines are used in all Ontario Schools and represent the minimum standards for risk management practice for school boards. They focus the attention of teachers, intramural supervisors and coaches on safe practices, in every activity, in order to minimize the element of risk. Over the past 17 years Chris has worked with a dedicated staff to build the capacity and reputation of the organization.
Rhona McGlasson - The FIFA 11+ neuromuscular training warm‐up program: from evidence to implementation
Rhona McGlasson is the Executive Director of Bone and Joint Canada. Under her leadership Bone and Joint Canada has been successful in building the knowledge translation network for orthopaedic care across the country. This work has included the implementation of national initiatives to change clinical practice for hip and knee replacement in 2006 – 20011 and hip fracture in 2011 – 13. In both cases work was undertaken in the 10 provinces across Canada leading to the Knowledge translation award from CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis in 2013. Rhona is a physiotherapist who has extensive experience working in public and privately funded clinics to provide rehabilitation for individuals who have experienced an injury. Through recent funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation she is leading a project to work with sports teams and health care professionals across Ontario to reduce knee and ankle injury rates for youth soccer players. Rhona received her physiotherapy diploma from Withington Hospital in 1988 and her degree from the University of Greenwich, London in 1998. She also received her M.B.A from Edinburgh Business School in 2002.
Barbara Byers - The Convergence of the Developing Teen Brain, Risk Taking and Swim to Survive+
Barbara Byers brings over 10 years of marketing and advertising experience to her current roles as the Public Education Director for the Lifesaving Society and the Research Director for the Drowning Prevention Research Centre – Canada. Barbara is responsible for leading the collection, analysis and dissemination of water incident research in Canada. This scientific evidence-based data is used to guide the development of drowning prevention initiatives. Barbara is responsible for developing the strategic and executional components for the Lifesaving Society’s annual Water Smart campaign, directed at changing the behaviour of Canadians to prevent drowning and water-related injuries. She is also the media spokesperson. Barbara is the Past Chair of the Canadian Safe Boating Council, the Chair of the PFD Taskforce and Chair of Educational Programs for the CSBC. She is a current member of the International Lifesaving Federation’s Child Drowning Committee, a past member of the ILS Drowning Report committee and one of the principal authors of the 2007 World Drowning Report. Barbara is also a director on the National Water Safety Congress in the USA. Barbara lives in Toronto Ontario Canada. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a degree in Business Administration and has been with the Lifesaving Society for 20 years. Prior her position with the Lifesaving Society, Barbara had marketing/advertising positions with Warner Lambert and the Leo Burnett advertising agency.
Patti Funaro and Julie Augustine - A Manufacturing Approach to Safety in Sport and Recreation
Patti Funaro and Julie Augustine both work as supervisors in the Culture and Recreation Department for the Town of LaSalle. The Town of LaSalle's pride is the Vollmer Culture and Recreation Complex. Situated on 189 acres, the Vollmer Complex offers two ice pads, a leisure pool, a fitness centre, numerous multi-purpose rooms, 26 soccer fields, 10 baseball diamonds, an outdoor amphitheatre and festival plaza, a skateboard park, 2 outdoor pavilions and numerous kilometers of paved and unpaved trails. Together, Patti and Julie manage the programs and services offered by the Department of Culture and Recreation. Combined, they have over 30 years experience in the sport and recreation field.
