GP054: Sport and Justice with Tracy Blake (Part 1)

Today's episode features Tracy Blake (she/her). The only daughter of Trinidadian immigrants, Tracy and her youngest brother were raised in the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-faith, working class neighbourhood of Rexdale in Toronto, on the traditional territory of many nations, including the Anishinabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewa, and Huron-Wendat peoples, as well as the Mississaugas of the Credit. Her 17-year clinical career includes providing acute inpatient care in the largest hospital system in Canada, community care to diverse populations ages 6 to 86 in private practice, field event coverage to athletes from over 25 sports at over 40 local, provincial, national, and international events, and whatever-was-needed as a personal support worker and case consultant in long term care facilities during COVID. Her curiosity, creativity, and commitment to professional dream-chasing has resulted in an unconventional career path that has meandered through a post-professional degree in Manipulative Therapy from Western University and a doctorate from the University of Calgary. It has included founding a section of the highest ranking sport medicine journal in the world as a junior editor, co-authoring the most recent iteration of the Canadian physiotherapy education accreditation standards, advocating for the inclusion of physiotherapists in athlete rights based policy innovation at the United Nations, and launching the Canada Games Sport Physiotherapy Leadership Program.