Research Council Executive Members

Before taking on her current role of Director, Field Experience (Community-Based Pathway), at the Werklund School of Education, Dr. Astrid Kendrick was a K-12 classroom teacher for nineteen years specializing in Physical Education and English/Language Arts. Astrid’s current research focus is on compassion fatigue, burnout, and emotional labour in Alberta educational workers and as a result of this work, she has developed a website (www.heartcareeducators) to enable educational workers to work on their health and wellness at work.

Dr. Wendy Barber is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Canada.  She was recently honoured by winning  the the 2022 Ontario Tech University  Teaching Award of Excellence. Dr. Barber lives with 4 small dogs, (Georgia, Gracie, Sophie and Mickey )who remind her daily to stay  active, chew important stuff, love deeply, read a lot, get out in nature, and PLAY !  Wendy's passions include, Health and Physical Education, Teacher Development, Resilience, and Online Pedagogy. Her research is centred in the PHEWISE Digital Research Lab at https://www.phewise.ca<https://www.phewise.ca/> , and she is also an Associate Researcher with the Education Informatics Lab at https://eilab.ca<https://eilab.ca/> , focusing on how we can build better online communities.

Dr. Kyle Pushkarenko is an Assistant Professor in the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation at Memorial University of Newfoundland, teaching Adapted Physical Activity, Diversity and Inclusion and Health Promotion. Kyle’s background includes extensive experience in program development, planning, and delivery across various ages and abilities, and within multiple contexts including education, sport, and community-based recreation. Kyle’s research interests are vast with respect to various impairment types and contextual settings, however, his primary areas of interest include the intersection between inclusion and physical literacy theory and practice, ableism in adapted and inclusive physical activity/education programming, and the “insider’s” point of view to program development and design. He is an active advocate for adapted physical activity/education and physical literacy development for all individuals experiencing disability.

Sabrina Razack is an educator in the Toronto area and also a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto. The program resides at the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education combined with a collaborative specialization in the Women and Gender Studies department. Between educating and becoming a student, Sabrina worked with the CAAWS, now the Canadian Women & Sport, the Pan/Parapan American Games and the INVICTUS Games. Sabrina’s current research examines the intersections of physical activity, sport, physical education, media, race, gender, class and culture. Sabrina is an award-winning curriculum writer, and developed http://teachbeyondaboundary.com/, to create units on critical Physical Education, Physical Activity, Sport and social issues.

McKenna Szczepanowski (she/her/hers) is a PhD Candidate at the University of Waterloo working in the COMPASS lab. Her research focuses primarily on sports participation among Canadian youth, inequities and barriers to participation, impacts on mental health, and how the school environment plays a role in physical activity engagement and sustainability. She is passionate about evidence-based research and knowledge dissemination to promote policy and programming initiatives. McKenna also teaches dance to elementary school students, recognizing it as a form of physical activity that fosters creativity and a lifelong love for movement. Beyond academia, McKenna enjoys travelling, learning new languages, crafting creative charcuterie boards, and walks with her dog.