Meet the Team
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Gretchen Kerr, PhD
LAB CO-DIRECTOR
Dr. Gretchen Kerr is a Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto. She is a world-renowned scholar and expert on the treatment of youth and women in sport. Her research focuses on gender-based violence in sport and women in coaching, with a vision of making sport safer and more inclusive. With over 100 publications on athlete maltreatment and safeguarding in sport, Dr. Kerr’s research is widely acknowledged to have had a tangible and lasting impact on Canada’s sports landscape.
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Ashley Stirling, PhD
LAB CO-DIRECTOR
Dr. Ashley Stirling is an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, and Vice-Dean, Programs, at University of Toronto’s Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education. An internationally recognized expert in sport coaching, her research focuses on positive athlete development, safeguarding athlete welfare, and preventing interpersonal violence in sport and dance. Dr. Stirling has developed national coach education initiatives and served as an expert advisor to numerous sport organizations.
Current Lab Members
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Aalaya Milne
PHD CANDIDATE
Aalaya is a PhD Candidate in Kinesiology in the Safe Sport+ Lab under the supervision of Dr. Ashley Stirling at the University of Toronto. She completed her BKin and MSc degrees at the U of T. Her research interests include experiences of harm in dance, interpersonal violence in sport, and intersectional experiences of dancers and athletes. She hopes to help support both the dance and athletic communities to create safe learning environments for all.
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Anya Guinzbourg
MSC STUDENT
anya.guinzbourg@mail.utoronto.ca
Anya is an MSc in Kinesiology student in the Safe Sport+ Lab under the supervision of Dr. Ashley Stirling at the University of Toronto. She has a BSc (Hons) in Kinesiology from York University. Anya’s research interests include how coaches implement safeguarding practices, especially at a high-performance level, athlete safeguarding, as well as the psychological safety of coaches. She was a competitive figure skater for 12 years, now skates recreationally, and is also an NCCP licensed CanSkate coach, teaching youth and adults.
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Bryanna Campbell
MA STUDENT
bryanna.campbell@mail.utoronto.ca
Bryanna is a Masters in Kinesiology student under the supervision of Dr. Ashley Stirling at the University of Toronto. She graduated with a BSc in Psychology at Concordia University. Her research interests include safeguarding practices in sport, athlete empowerment, and how team leaders can play a role in advancing safe sport. Bryanna is also a current U of T varsity and semi-professional soccer player. She has over 15 years of experience as an elite athlete, including serving as a team captain for much of her career.
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Deanna Casa
MSC STUDENT
Deanna is an MSc student in Kinesiology under the supervision of Dr. Gretchen Kerr at the University of Toronto. She earned her BA (Hons) in Psychology from York University. Her research interests include maltreatment in youth aesthetic sports, positive coaching pedagogy, and sport psychology. Her extensive experience as both an athlete and a gymnastics coach has inspired her interest in researching Safe Sport environments for positive athlete development. Deanna is always looking for ways to implement positive sport psychology techniques into her coaching philosophy in order to enhance athlete experiences.
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Erin Willson
PHD, OLYMPIAN
Erin is an Olympian in the sport of Artistic Swimming. She is also the past President of AthletesCAN, which advocates for the rights of athletes in Canada. She completed her PhD in Kinesiology under the supervision of Dr. Gretchen Kerr at the University of Toronto. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Safe Sport+ Lab. Her research interests include gender-based violence, emotional abuse and body shaming in sport, athlete empowerment, and athlete advocacy. Through her position on the board of AthletesCAN, she has become 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.
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Francesca Principe
PHD CANDIDATE
francesca.principe@mail.utoronto.ca
Francesca is a PhD candidate in Kinesiology under the supervision of Dr. Gretchen Kerr at the University of Toronto. She earned her M.S. in Kinesiology with an emphasis in sport and exercise psychology from the University of Minnesota where she was a member of the Sports Medicine Psychology Lab and her BA in exercise science from St. Olaf College, where she played NCAA ice hockey. Her research interests include psychosocial factors of sport injury, specifically psychological recovery from sport injury, and return to play. Francesca is also a mental skills coach for two U of T Varsity teams.
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Georgia Lambrinos
MA STUDENT
georgia.lambrinos@mail.utoronto.ca
Georgia is an MA student in Kinesiology under the supervision of Dr. Gretchen Kerr. She is interested in the various sociological aspects of athlete maltreatment. Georgia completed her undergraduate BA degree in Kinesiology and Health Science with a minor in psychology at York University. While at York University, she, along with two peers, completed a research project titled "The Sheath of the Spectacle: Examining Youth Athlete Maltreatment." Georgia is a former high-performance hockey player, where she competed in the Ontario U22 AA elite league and for the Greek Heritage women’s hockey team.
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Jenna Magrath
MSC STUDENT
jenna.magrath@mail.utoronto.ca
Jenna is an MSc in Kinesiology student under the supervision of Dr. Ashley Stirling at the University of Toronto. She holds a BA in Contemporary Dance and a BKin (Hons) from the University of Calgary. Jenna’s research interests are safeguarding, experiences of harm in dance, and dance teaching strategies for older adults and individuals with Parkinson’s. Jenna is also a dance artist and educator with performance, choreographer, and teaching credits across Western Canada.
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Jesse Porter
PHD CANDIDATE
Jesse is a PhD Candidate in Kinesiology under the supervision of Dr. Gretchen Kerr at the University of Toronto. She is taking a Collaborative Specialization in Women and Gender Studies. Her research interests include care work, gender, and safeguarding in sport coaching, as well as institutional safeguarding in Canadian youth sport. Jesse is also the head coach of the U of T women's lacrosse program and has over 10 years of volunteer coach experience in multiple countries.
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Nicole Chateau
MSC STUDENT
nicole.chateau@mail.utoronto.ca
Nicole is an MSc in Kinesiology student in the Safe Sport+ Lab under the supervision of Dr. Ashley Stirling, returning to the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Toronto after completing her BKin in the faculty. A former concurrent student-athlete and conference champion at Humber College, she draws on 20 years of high-performance basketball experience as both an athlete and coach to inform her research on athlete welfare and career transitions. Her research interests are: safeguarding athlete welfare, maltreatment in high-performance sport, gendered experiences of psychological safety, career transitions, and career excellence.
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Sarah McGee
PHD CANDIDATE
Sarah is a PhD Candidate in the Safe Sport+ Lab under the supervision of Dr. Ashley Stirling at the University of Toronto, where she also completed her MSc in Kinesiology. She earned her BSc, with a specialization in Biology and Psychology at Queen’s University, where she worked as a research assistant in the Pain Lab. Sarah’s research interests include experiences of psychological maltreatment in sport, conformity to the sport ethic, normalization of harm, athlete agency and autonomy, and the promotion of safeguarding practices in sport. As a previous competitive dancer, she is also interested in exploring the common demands and pressures dancers experience within the dance culture.
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Sophie Wensel
PHD CANDIDATE
sophie.wensel@mail.utoronto.ca
Sophie is a PhD Candidate in Kinesiology working under the supervision of Dr. Gretchen Kerr at the University of Toronto. She completed her MSc in Kinesiology at U of T and her BA majoring in Psychology at the University of British Columbia. At UBC, she was a research assistant in the Social Cognition and Emotion Lab (The Happy Lab), the Social Health Lab, and the Psychology of Exercise, Health, and Physical Activity Lab. Her research interests include experiences of abuse and neglect as well as evidence-based safeguarding practices in ballet, dance, and sport environments. Sophie was a professional dancer in Canada and Germany before she returned to university.
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Taryn Nepon
PHD, RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Taryn is a Research Associate with Dr. Gretchen Kerr in Kinesiology at the University of Toronto. She completed her MA and PhD in social-personality psychology at York University under the supervision of Dr. Gordon Flett, and then worked with him as a Research Associate at the LaMarsh Centre for Child & Youth Research. Her research focused on perfectionism and health, as well as gender-based violence and peer victimization. Taryn has a strong interest in studying feelings of mattering, maltreatment, and health among athletes and dancers in the Safe Sport+ Lab.
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Thomas Leaf
PHD STUDENT
Thomas is a PhD Candidate in Kinesiology under the supervision of Dr. Gretchen Kerr at the University of Toronto. He completed his MA in Kinesiology at U of T. Originally from Nanaimo, British Columbia, Thomas completed his undergraduate studies in Kinesiology and History at Vancouver Island University, where he also played collegiate baseball. His research interests focus on children in high performance sport, international approaches to safeguarding in sport, and sport policy.
Lab Alumni
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Anthony Battaglia
PHD, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Anthony is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science at York University. His teaching and research interests focus on youth sport, relational dynamics, coaching and leadership, athlete maltreatment, and strategies for advancing developmentally appropriate and safe sport. Anthony completed his PhD and postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Gretchen Kerr in Kinesiology at the University of Toronto. He is also a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC), accredited by the Canadian Sport Psychology Association, providing education and support on topics such as stress and coping, performance enhancement, and team cohesion.
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Stephanie Buono
PHD, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Stephanie is an Assistant Professor in the Teaching Stream at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). She teaches courses on human development, psychosocial functioning, and research methods. Stephanie was a Research Associate with Dr. Gretchen Kerr in Kinesiology at the University of Toronto in the Safe Sport+ Lab. She completed her MA and PhD in applied psychology at OISE, investigating how emotions contribute to classroom learning, student well-being, and school climate. Stephanie has a strong interest in studying athlete maltreatment, mental health and well-being, equity in educational assessment, and mental health promotion and prevention in schools. Stephanie is also a former athlete.