Dr. Leisha Strachan among 100 Black Canadian women celebrated for changing their communities

October 18, 2022

After teaching for three years at the kindergarten to Grade 8 levels in Winnipeg, Dr. Leisha Strachan pursued a graduate degree in Human Kinetics at the University of Waterloo.

Thinking about teaching older learners and unsure of the process, she asked a colleague about the requirements to teach at the university level.

“A PhD. was the response and I said, ‘Okay, I guess that is what I am doing’,” Strachan said. “I found an area that I was interested in.”

The 2008 Doctor of Philosophy in Sports Psychology graduate was among 100 distinguished Black Canadian women honoured on September 17 in the Greater Toronto Area.

Their accomplishments are recorded in a book that was unveiled that evening.

Growing up with parents who embraced the importance of connection and community made the recognition more memorable for the former University of Manitoba women’s soccer team mental performance consultant.

They migrated from Grenada in 1968 and have been married for 54 years.

Jerome Strachan is an active volunteer while his wife, Margaret, co-founded the Grenada Association of Manitoba and the Council of Caribbean Organizations of Manitoba and was a dance instructor.

“I have been the recipient of awards through sport and other things, but when your community acknowledges you, that is extra special,” Strachan, who co-founded the Anansi School for the Performing Arts in 2009, said. “To be surrounded by so much excellence and positivity is inspiration to continue the work I am doing and think about how I can make things better for the Winnipeg community.”

Dr. Leisha Strachan with her parents Jerome and Margaret Strachan (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

Though getting up in age, her parents still enjoy travelling and were delighted to attend the gala.

When Strachan asked them to accompany her, they did not hesitate.

“Without our parents’ sacrifices, me and my older brother would be nowhere,” she said. “If we showed potential in anything, they made sure we got involved in that activity despite the costs. They left the Caribbean to explore this country and it still amazes me that they stayed. There are so many reasons to want to return to the land of your birth. Any success that I and my brother have is because of our parents and it is important for them to be there for these moments.”

Strachan did not plan to return to Winnipeg after completing her PhD at Queen’s University.

A scarcity of academic positions following the global economic meltdown 14 years ago limited her choices.

“I was looking for jobs abroad, but they weren’t any,” she said. “The University of Manitoba was the only one hiring and I was in the right position to be able to apply. It is very rare in academia that you get a job in your home institution or where you want to be.”

The full-time Professor is Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Kinesiology & Recreation Management.

Strachan’s research is focused on positive youth development through sport and she is interested in exploring positive coaching behaviours and parent involvement.

In 2010, she and fellow sports psychologists Dany MacDonald and Jean Cote developed Project SCORE which is an online resource for coaches and parents to learn about the competence, confidence, connection and character and how the 4 Cs could be incorporated to promote positive youth spaces.

Sport has always been an integral part of Strachan’s life.

When mom took her then five-year-old daughter to the local recreation club to sign up for tap dancing and found out the class was full, a volunteer at the next table leaned over and said, ‘Have you ever thought about baton twirling’?

“Coming from the Caribbean, my mother said she didn’t have any idea what that was, but she would bring me on the days they practiced,” said Strachan. “I loved the sport from the beginning because of the complexity and a teacher who made it fun and interesting. In addition to manipulating the skills of the baton, you need to be a dancer and have technique in terms of taking ballet and jazz because those are really important foundational pieces as you have to do spins and gymnastics and things under the baton. Of course, gymnastics is necessary learning as you have to do some of those tricks like walkovers. It is like three in one and that is what interests me.”

After attending a summer clinic two years later, she chose baton twirling – it involves using the body to spin a metal rod in a co-ordinated routine -- over figure skating.

“It was a hard choice, but I couldn’t do the two at the same time if I wanted to be the best in one of them,” she said.

During an illustrious 18-year career that ended in 1997, Strachan represented Canada at seven world championships, winning two bronze medals.

“Because it is a smaller sport, I was afforded the opportunity to travel and really excel,” she said.

A coach for the last 26 years, Strachan is also a judge and choreographer, working with athletes throughout Canada and in England, Spain, Scotland and Australia.

While competing for Canada, Susan Franklin who is the coach and director at the Starlight Destiny Baton & Pom Pom Club in Halton, was her only other Black teammate.

In a sport that is predominantly White, Strachan has taken a lead to make it more inclusive.

“I think there is an awareness of the need to make the sport more diversified and I can see that in some of our clubs,” the Aerial Fusion Baton Club co-founder said. “Throughout the years, I have taught about two Black athletes in my club. Just motivating people to come and try the sport can be difficult because they like to be part of activities they are familiar with. You never know what your child would like, so I encourage parents in our community to encourage their kids to try it.”

Outside of teaching and researching, Strachan relishes expressing her artistic talent at every opportunity.

She sings in her church and is a member of The Prairie Dancers.

As part of their extracurricular activities, she and her brother – Larry Strachan -- were enrolled in piano classes.

He is an orchestral conductor and founder of Chamber Orchestra Without Borders.

Canada’s first female Black Member of Parliament Jean Augustine, human resource executive Dauna Jones-Simmonds and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion strategist Dr. Denise O’Neil Green launched the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women initiative six years ago.

Dr. Denise O’Neil Green (l), Dauna Jones-Simmonds & Jean Augustine (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

In welcoming this year’s cohort, O’Neil Green noted the recognition is bestowed on women who have changed their communities, provinces and Canada.

“That’s no minor feat,” she told the honourees. “You were selected from among your peers who appreciate you and see you. This is about making the invisible visible. The country does not appreciate us in the way that it should. This project is about bringing your efforts forward.”

O’Neil Green challenged the honourees to use the celebration to challenge the lack of diversity and equity in workplaces where talented women are severely under-represented.

“We are here to support one another,” she added. “We lift as we climb.”