No one should be excluded from the lifelong benefits of sport, and far too often women and girls are left out of the picture. Join us in our third session of the Bison Transport Sport LeadHERship series where our panel will speak on their experience in being involved in sport beyond participation.
Lisa has always had a love for sport, starting at an early age sport played a really important role in her life and knew her profession would involve working in sport in some capacity. She graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1998 with a degree in Recreation Management and started working at the Canadian Sport Centre Manitoba which was located on campus at the time. The unique opportunity had Lisa working with a national sport organization during the Pan Am Games, primarily to promote Manitoban athletes and coaches. She then went on to work with the Western Canada Summer Games, Special Olympics, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, and now, along with her current role with Bison Sports and Recreation Services, owns her own business.
Janine finished off her competitive Rowing Career with a Silver Medal in the Women’s 8+ at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Since then, Janine moved back to Winnipeg and moved into the role of President of the Winnipeg Rowing Club. In the time spent back in the sport and rowing community in Winnipeg, Janine realized she had a real passion for coaching and helping athletes to reach their full potential, and in turn, took on the role of Head Coach for the Manitoba Rowing Association in May of 2017.
Janine has a very hands-on learning approach for her athletes which is helpful for her as she works to improve her coaching abilities. Feeling the athlete’s movements in the boat and their tendencies can be helpful both for the athletes and for Janine as she is constantly thinking about what she does and or thinks about during the stroke, then can relay that to the athletes with another variation on how they can better learn and grow as rowers. Janine has had a very positive effect on the rowing community and athletes in Manitoba. As she continues down the coaching path, she hopes she can grow the sport and help many more athletes achieve what she never even dreamed she could.
Donna Harris is a Chartered Professional Coach and skilled leader with specific experience in large-scale program development and implementation. She holds a Master of Arts in Kinesiology; her thesis explored the impact of passion on the performance and lives of Olympic and Paralympic coaches and their partners. The research lends insight into the requirements high performers need to be successful, as well as the impact being a high performer has on the individual, their partner and their family. The outcome of Donna’s research led to workshops that focus on sustained performance; these sessions are delivered through the Own The Podium Pursuit program and in corporate settings. The architect behind Athletics Canada’s revised coaching education program, she understands the components of performance and the steps necessary to draw out the best in everyone.
Donna worked in amateur sport for 20 years in various leadership roles, including the Director of Coach Development at Athletics Canada and Executive Director of Athletics Manitoba and Racquetball Canada. In 2020, she moved from sport to the corporate sector and is currently a founding team member at HumanWise, a startup that embraces the crazy idea that professional development is not a one size fits all solution. HumanWise is focused on democratizing the human development of individuals at all levels of an organization so that we can grow better and further together.