RESEARCH & FACULTY
Stephen Ritchie
Stephen Ritchie
Assistant ProfessorHuman Kinetics
Professional Schools
705.675.1151 ext. 1046
250
Sudbury Campus
Stephen Ritchie is an Assistant Professor in the School of Human Kinetics at Laurentian University, and a doctoral candidate in the School of Rural and Northern Health. He has worked in the outdoor field on and off for over 30 years as a guide, teacher, facilitator, and more recently as professor. Over the past ten years, he has taught a variety of senior level undergraduate courses, and he is currently active in a diverse portfolio of research with several collaborative teams. Prior to his arrival at the university, Stephen spent six years consulting in the private sector working onsite for several large corporations at various locations across Canada.
As an avid outdoorsman, Stephen has international mountaineering experience scaling peaks throughout Canada, the United States, Alaska, Mexico, and in the Himalayas. He has also canoed, kayaked, and rafted throughout Canada on turbulent whitewater rivers, and he has led several long backcountry wilderness expeditions in some of the most remote regions of Canada. Stephen resides in Sudbury Ontario with his wife Nathalie and their two children Tristan and Ixta. And when he is not too busy with his teaching, research, climbing, or paddling adventures, he can be found lounging on the bank of the Aux Sables River in northern Ontario.
Professional Vision Statement:
My vision is to understand and share the holistic health benefits of an active lifestyle involving wilderness travel, adventure, and the appreciation of nature. I dream of a day when individuals, groups, policy makers, and society will embrace the outdoors as a medium for personal change and health, and as a catalyst for growth and learning.
Professional Mission Statement:
My personal mission encompasses a threefold daily effort:
1. To acquire, develop, and disseminate information and research that both explains and expands the field of outdoor adventure leadership and physical and health education.
2. To educate and motivate students towards a professional orientation, expertise and passion for outdoor adventure leadership and physical and health education. Undergraduates will be knowledgeable, skilled, certified, and work ready. Graduates will be passionate, motivated, and experts in their chosen field of study.
3. To actively promote the holistic health benefits of wilderness adventure, outdoor education, and contact with nature.
- PhD Candidate, School of Rural and Northern Heath, Laurentian University
- MBA, Concordia University
- BPE, University of Calgary
Stephen’s research interests are devoted to understanding wilderness, adventure and outdoor education in the context of achieving personal growth and health outcomes. He is currently involved in research projects related to the following: (1) promoting resilience and well-being through outdoor adventure; (2) understanding human energy consumption and expenditure during wilderness expeditions; (3) using heart rate variability (HRV) as a psycho-physiological measure of stress and holistic health in natural environments; (4) promoting health through active interactions with nature. Stephen is interested in diverse methodological approaches including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods. He is also involved in two community-based participatory research (CBPR) projects with First Nations communities that include program development, implementation, and evaluation phases. Stephen is completing a PhD thesis entitled: Promoting Resilience and Well-Being through an Outdoor Adventure Leadership Experience Designed for First Nations Adolescents. He is a core member of the ECHO (Evaluating Children’s Health Outcomes) Research Centre.
- ‘Coureur des Bois’ – Gold designation at the Canadian Ski Marathon February 9-10, 2008.
- `Best of the Best` Award from RLG International for superior project results and customer satisfaction (private sector business consulting). 2001.
- Ritchie SD, Wabano MJ, Schinke R, Peltier D, Restoule B, Russell K, Corbiere R, & Young NL (2012). The Aboriginal youth resilience study: A look at promoting resilience and well-being through outdoor adventure leadership experience. In A. Prior, C. Carpenter, C. Norton, & K. Kirchner (Eds.), Emerging Insights: Proceedings of the 5th International Adventure Therapy Conference 2009 (pp. 145-161).
- Larivière M, Couture R, Ritchie SD, Côté D, Oddson B, Wright, J. (2012). Behavioural assessment of wilderness therapy participants: Exploring the consistency of observational data. Journal of Experiential Education, 35(1), 290-302.
- Ritchie SD, Wabano MJ, Young N, Schinke R, Peltier D, Battochio R, & Russell K. (2010). Developing a culturally relevant outdoor leadership training program for Aboriginal youth. Journal of Experiential Education, 32(3), 300-304. Funded by Indigenous Health Research Development Program (IHRDP).
- Ritchie SD, Brinkman DG, Wabano MJ, & Young NL. (2011). Reflections on Connecting Through Outdoor Adventure. Pathways 23(4), 4-9. Funded by LU.
- Blodgett A, Schinke RJ, Peltier D, Wabano MJ, Fisher LA, Eys MA, Ritchie SD, Recollet-Saikkonen D, Pheasant C, & Pickard P. (2010). ‘Naadmaadmi’: Reflections of Aboriginal community members engaged in sport psychology co-researching activities with mainstream academics. Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise, 2(1), 56-76.
