Dr. Jessica Fraser-Thomas

Jessica Fraser-Thomas is an Assistant Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science at York University in Toronto, Canada. Her research focuses on children and youths’ development through sport, with a particular interest in positive youth development, psychosocial influences (i.e., coaches, family, peers), and withdrawal. Currently she is collaborating on projects exploring children’s earliest introductions to organized sport and examining the characteristics of sport programs that facilitate optimal youth development, including a project focused specifically on children’s (often controversial) Mixed Martial Arts programs; each of these projects is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and Sport Canada’s Sport Participation Research Initiative (SPRI). In 2012, Dr. Fraser-Thomas was awarded a Volunteer Service Award by the Province of Ontario, for her work developing and implementing the YMCA Strong Kids’ Duathlon.