09/11/2026
Master of Arts (Sociology) candidate: Keyara Valencia-Hinds
14 September 2026, 2:00 PM Atlantic
Hybrid Defence
KCIC Acadia Room
Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/297092778831955?p=b9yCpnEIW8Zzs43elN
Meeting ID: 297 092 778 831 955
Passcode: St96R4Xm
Thesis Committee:
\Dr. James Brittain, Supervisor
Dr. Marianne Clark, Internal Examiner
Dr. Janelle Joseph, Brock Univ., External Examiner
Dr. Liam Swiss, Head of Sociology Department
Alicia Noreiga-Mundaroy, Chair of the defence
Abstract
Black representation within the athletic therapy profession remains near absent on Turtle Island (Canada). Given the profession’s instrumental role in sport, this raises concern and reinforces a pattern of structural omission. Based on existing literature that relates to the Black experience in sport and education, limited attention has been given to the Black certified athletic therapist experience. Guided by a critical intersectional tradition, and in response to this absence, six Black certified athletic therapists participated in a virtual sharing circle to address the central question: In what ways does Blackness impact a certified athletic therapist? While isolation characterized the Black athletic therapist experience in the profession, it cultivated another community within the sharing circle, illuminating the need for acknowledgement, accountability, and Black representation – within the Canadian sport context and literature.
About Keyara…
Keyara Valencia-Hinds (she/her) is a certified athletic therapist, CAT(C), whose practice is grounded in lived experience, community, and a belief that everyone is an athlete, whether in sport or in life. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from McMaster University and a Bachelor of Science in Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology with a Specialization in Athletic Therapy from Concordia University.
As a Master of Arts in Sociology student at Acadia University, Valencia-Hinds’ work centres the Black athletic therapist experience on Turtle Island (Canada) and the structural omission therein. Rooted in Indigenous methodologies, she recognizes the value of placing relationality at the forefront and honouring storytelling as legitimate sources of knowledge that prioritize the community’s voice. In response to the absence of Black athletic therapists within the sport context and the literature, she has sought to do more than advocate for representation alone; she aims to shift the narrative that surrounds Black athletes and athletic therapists through research, education, and collaboration.
While further education is on the horizon, for now, Valencia-Hinds hopes to build on the foundation laid by her thesis through initiatives that contribute to a future that is safe for Black athletic therapists (and athletes) across sport and within the profession.
