Department of Recreation Studies

Watch Dan's introduction video:

TBA.

Education

M.A. (Global Leadership) Royal Roads University 2021
Diploma – Outdoor Recreation Management. Capilano University 2015
YTT – 250 Hours Langara College 2019

Certifications

All Youth Matter Inclusion Certificate – ViaSport 2019
Mental Health First Aid – Mental Health Commission of Canada 2019
Responding With Respect, Frontline Workers – Mental Health Commission of Canada, Vancouver Fraser Branch 2020
Avalanche Safety Training Level One – Mountain Skills Academy 2017
IMPACT! Youth Sustainability Leadership Program – The Natural Step 2016
SSI Advanced Open Water Diving Certificate – Roctopus Dive 2016

Essential Wilderness Aid – Ridge Wilderness 2015
Biography

Emma is currently a graduate student with her academic focus in global leadership and systems thinking. With a background in outdoor recreation, Emma is passionate about environmental and social justice and their intersecting natures. Emma strives to support others in recognizing their role as a global citizen and seeks to demonstrate and inspire others to leverage the power they hold as a force for positive change within their local and global communities. 

Connectivity and wellness are Emma’s primary passion to inspire others to pursue careers in the recreation industry. She believes facilitating spaces that encourage individuals to evolve through connecting to self, others and nature is integral to building strong communities and a more wholesome society. Inclusivity and accessibility also play an important role in recreation for her, and she finds it an honor to contribute to an industry that breaks down barriers of age, ethnicity, socio-economic standing, and many more. She believes that it is through recreation we can cultivate a kinder, more understanding culture to gift to future generations.

Erin’s education includes a BA in Leisure Administration from the University of Victoria, an MBA in Executive Management with a specialization in Leadership from Royal Roads University and she is currently a candidate for her PhD in Kinesiology at the University of Victoria (2025). Her education is complimented with extensive managerial expertise in hospitality, not-for-profit sports and recreation management, and post-secondary education.

Erin has been instructing at Langara since 2010 teaching in the School of Management and Recreation Studies Departments. Erin was the Co-ordinator for the Bachelor of Recreation Management Program (BRM) 2015-2017 and the Chair of the Recreation Studies Department 2017-2023. Erin teaches in the Recreation Leadership Diploma Program, the BRM, as well as the Marketing Management and Business and International Business Departments.

Prior to working at Langara, Erin was a private club manager for nearly a decade where she was responsible for managing all recreational and competitive sports programming as well as managing a wide range of social and business events including designing, coordinating, and marketing programs, conferences, AGM’s, large theme parties and numerous special events for adults and children.

Over the past 2 decades her sports management repertoire at the Club, on the mountains and in the community includes design and marketing substantial aquatics and fitness programs, and working alongside not for profit organizations to deliver Provincial, National and International level tennis, badminton and squash tournaments, Provincial, National, World Cup and World Championship ski and snowboard and para-snowboard events, she was also the Chief of Snowboard Athlete Compound for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

Erin is a dedicated volunteer in the not-for-profit sport and recreation sector and sits (or have previously sat) as a Board of Director for Canada Skateboard, Canada Snowboard, BC Snowboard, BC Women and Sport/ProMotion Plus (an organization aside Sport BC that focuses on advocacy and recognition for women and girls in physical activity and sport), and Up In The Air Theatre Company.

One of her greatest strengths lies in her ability to see the big picture: to identify and prioritize the key success factors required to ensure seamless delivery of a vast array of programs and events. Her exceptional time management and multi-tasking skills allow her to continually excel at successful project planning and implementation. In her managerial roles, she is known for her well-honed, progressive and solution-focused style to get the job accomplished while achieving strategic and financial objectives.

Erin has strong leadership skills. She enjoys inspiring, motivating and collaborating with others to co-create a positive, energized, dynamic work and learning culture. Her long-standing practice of working with diverse teams and populations have helped her acquire outstanding networking, communication, interpersonal and coaching skills.

Erin is a passionate instructor who strives to create an inclusive and safe learning environment for her students. She is coach and mentor by nature, and through her private practice, her role as a department advisor, and with originations such as the Vancouver Board of Trade- Leaders of Tomorrow program, she thrives at helping others reach their potential though self-exploration, attention to wellness, and personal strategic planning. She is also an advocate for facilitating rich intercultural experiences for her students. Traveling extensively throughout her life, she has

profited from a variety of international employment opportunities and a multitude of enriching cultural experiences which have helped shape her personally and professionally.

Erin is known for her positivity, accountability and ability to collaborate with others on multiple projects delivering high quality, innovative work. As an instructor, she is innovative, inclusive, fair, lighthearted and fun!

Education

• M.A. (Leisure Studies) University of Victoria 2003
• B.A. Simon Fraser University 1997
• Diploma – Marketing Management. British Columbia Institute of Technology 1991

Community Involvement

• Boys and Girls Club of Greater Vancouver – Program Committee Member
• Promotion Plus – past board member
• Snowshoe Guide at Mt. Seymour
• Hiking Guide – Metro Vancouver Regional Parks
• Canadian Ski Instructors Association – Level I
• Canadian Association of Disabled Skiing – Level I
• Vancouver Adaptive Snowsports (VASS) volunteer
• National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Level 1
• Basketball Technical coaching certificate Level 1 and 2
• Captain of Snow to Surf women’s adventure racing team
• Navy Diver – Petty Officer, 2nd Class, Canadian Forces Naval Reserve
• High Five Facilitator
• British Columbia Parks and Recreation Association member
• Association of Experiential Education member

Biography

Janet Ready has a strong background in recreation leadership and programming and a passion for creating opportunities for people to experience High Quality Recreation.  Janet has worked as a program coordinator in the Municipal Parks, Recreation and Culture system within the lower mainland as well as leading recreation programs within the public and private recreation sector.

Her interest in Leadership within Recreation has inspired her to explore how to use play and experiential education to create opportunities for people to create awareness of, and develop their potential as leaders.

“The thing I really love about working in recreation is that we have this incredible opportunity to create programs that can challenge people, give them a different perspective, create insight into their own potential, build community, and increase their capacity for, and awareness of joy.”

Janet's Favourite Quote on Teaching
“Do not try to satisfy your vanity by teaching a great many things.  Awaken people’s curiosity.  It is enough to open minds; do not overload them.  Put there just a spark.  If there is some good flammable stuff, it will catch fire.” – Anatole France

Publications
“Exploring Women-Only programs in Outdoor Recreation”. Masters Thesis, University of Victoria 2003.

Contact: jready@langara.ca 

Office: B029m email: jfolkersen@langara.ca

Education / Professional Associations

M.A. (Leadership and Training), Royal Roads University (2006)     

Child Care Diploma, Mohawk College (1976)

Recreation Leadership Diploma, Mohawk College (1975)

Active member British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association (1980-present)

Board member British Columbia Recreation Foundation (2003-2021)

Active member Creative City Network (2006-2011)

Joanne was inspired to work in Recreation as a child in Ontario, going to playgrounds every summer. The playgrounds were supervised by ‘Supies’ who wore white hats and lanyards with whistles. Joanne wanted to be a Supie when she grew up and was excited to learn that one could gain post-secondary education in Recreation Leadership.

She started her career in the YMCA and then went into municipal recreation as an instructor of preschool and children’s programs before embarking into the area of youth leadership and development. Over the past 30+ years, she has progressed through various positions from Recreation Programmer, Area Supervisor, and Recreation Facility Manager to Parks, Culture & Recreation Administrator. In her last position as Assistant Director of Parks, Recreation and Culture, she was responsible for supervising eight facility/area managers that managed indoor/outdoor pools, playgrounds, petting zoo, arenas, community centres, museums and archives, arts and culture, youth and senior’s services.

Joanne has a strong belief in the value of Parks, Culture and Recreation facilities, programs and services. As such, she is continually searching for ways to deliver the message about the benefits that our services bring to our communities and finding ways to inspire people to consider Recreation as a life-long career choice.

Publications / Speaking Engagements 

Joanne’s thesis was published into a book titled “Measuring Performance: A Link Between Resources and Results” 2008 (ISBN 13: 9783836487351) 

She has completed research projects in partnership with BC Recreation and Parks Association and North Vancouver Recreation and Culture Commission. She has written articles for the BC Recreation and Parks Association Magazine and been a speaker at BC Recreation and Parks Association Symposiums, Creative City Network, and BC Recreation Foundation conferences and workshops.

As the newest member of the Langara Recreation Studies family, I’m excited to be part of this great program. I’ve worked in Recreation for most of my life. Starting as a lifeguard 25-year ago, I carved out a 12-year career in various roles in Municipal Parks and Recreation. Following my time in municipal recreation, I spent a few years living abroad working on different tourism-based development initiatives. From the jungles of Belize to the heart of Tokyo, I’ve had the opportunity to immerse myself in several different cultures and work alongside many amazing people. I eventually found my way back to Canada and joined Simon Fraser University as the Director of the Recreation department. 

Working as the Director of SFU Recreation has allowed me to combine my passion for community health through recreation with educational leadership. Working with bright, motivated student leaders and athletes, our department has become an industry leader in the creation and delivery of innovative recreation and wellness programming. A program I’m particularly proud of is the Active Health program that sees physicians prescribing recreation and personal training to patients struggling with severe depression. I believe that by encouraging a healthy, engaging, and social environment, recreation professionals play a critical role in community health.

I have a Masters of Education in Post-Secondary Educational Leadership from Simon Fraser University. My research focused on student leadership development through experiential learning. Also from Simon Fraser University, I have a Certificate in University Teaching and Learning. My post-secondary education began at Capilano University where I earned my Bachelor of Tourism Management Degree and a Diploma in Outdoor Recreation Management.

My own recreational pursuits have changed over the years and are now focused on my family. Our family loves to spend time outdoors particularly cycling and skiing. I also love coaching my kids in soccer and baseball. For solo sports, I’m an avid road cyclist and have just started to get into triathlons.

Biography

I am originally from Toronto (traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit) and spent ten years in Calgary (traditional territories of the Treaty 7 Nations and the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3), before relocating to the unceded and occupied territories of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil- Waututh), and xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam). Coast Salish Territory (Vancouver) in 2013.

I hold both a BA and an MFA from the University of Calgary, where I also worked as an instructor in the faculty of fine arts from 2009-2012. I am a dancer, choreographer, performer, writer, facilitator and educator. I have cultivated an artistic practice that spans work in the professional arts and community-engaged art making with diverse populations.

In 2014, I co-founded All Bodies Dance Project, an inclusive dance company made up of dancers with and without disabilities that celebrates the artistic potential of difference. In recent years my artistic practice has been focused on values of access and inclusion. I strive to make art within a context that both creates and speaks to community connection.

I have worked in the non-profit arts and culture sector for fifteen years in numerous capacities. I am currently a Community Arts Programmer with the Vancouver Park Board and regularly serve on many boards of directors, selection committees, juries and advisory committees. I have been the recipient of numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Art Council, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, as well as the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award.

Education

• M.A. (Adult Education) Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
• B.A. (Divisional Humanities) Bishop’s University, Lennoxville, Qc.

Biography

Shannon's areas of expertise include experiential learning, facilitation training, leadership development, staff training, and creative programming for children and youth. She has been the managing director of Possibilities Training Group, a Vancouver-based consulting company, since 1998 (www.possibilitiestraining.com), where she designs and delivers interactive training for groups of all kinds in recreation centres, schools, corporations, non-profit agencies and resorts. Over the years, she has facilitated hundreds of workshops for recreation staff, teaching them "positive play" games, group initiatives, facilitation techniques, and a myriad of creative activities to help them create high quality recreation experiences for their clients. She has also worked for the YM-YWCA, Royal Caribbean International, Surrey Self-Employment and Entrepreneur Development Society and a school board in Seoul, Korea.

Shannon’s Philosophy on Teaching
I believe in learning by doing; and facilitating learning by actively engaging students in the learning process. I want to stir groups up. Get them talking to each other; thinking together; strategizing and problem-solving and overcoming obstacles together. Laughing a bit, too. For that is how I believe students learn to hear and be heard; how students learn to trust each other and be trusted. To me, this is the essence of learning.

My favourite quote about education:
“So now with some relief, I turn to an activity, a purpose, which really warms me – the facilitation of learning. When I have been able to transform a group – and here I mean all members of the group, myself included – into a community of learners, then the excitement is almost beyond belief. To free curiosity; to permit individuals to go charging off in new directions dictated by their own interests; to unleash curiosity, to open everything to questioning and exploration, to  recognize that everything is in the process of change - here is an experience I can never forget.” ~ Carl Rogers

Selected Publications

• Fabulous Facilitation: 60 Energizing Activities to Build Connections, Engageyour Team, and Spruce up any Workshop, Staff Meeting, or Training Session.Vancouver: Possibilities Training Group Publications, 2012.
• Power Play: Team-Building Games and Initiatives for Children and Youth, Shannon Wall & Michelle Morin. Victoria: Possibilities Training Group Publications, 2000.
• Essay, “One Day at a Time”, in Mothering Canada: Interdisciplinary Voices, Demeter Press, 2009.
• Article in the Globe and Mail, Never Going to Grow Up, Not Me, January 2002.
• Masters Thesis, Language and Literacies in the Workplace: Towards an Integrated Approach, OISE, unpublished.
• Social Accounting: Issues in Data Collection. Paper presented at the Canadian Association of Social Cooperatives, Spring 2002.