Paris Olympic/Paralympic Games
Members of the media may directly contact the following expert about:
Would you swim in the Seine River?
Alexandre Poulain (English & French)
Full Professor, Department of Biology and Vice-Dean of Research, Faculty of Science
apoulain@uottawa.ca
Professor Poulain is an environmental microbiologist and geochemist who can discuss topics related to environmental health and water pollution.
"Paris's ambitious €1.4 billion project to clean the Seine River aims to make it swimmable for the 2024 Olympic Games, a century after the first ban was established. This project seeks to leave a sustainable legacy for citizens and tourists to safely enjoy this precious aquatic resource, but it will require long-term commitments from multiple stakeholders."
IOC, Olympic movement and its governance
Milena Parent (English & French)
Full Professor, Telfer School of Management and and Director of the International Olympic Committee/Olympic Solidarity-funded MEMOS (Executive Masters in Sport Organisation Management) English program.
media@uOttawa.ca
Professor Parent specializes in sport (event) governance and strategy with her research focusing on the organization and strategic planning of sport organizations, especially major sports events including the 2024 Paris Olympics. She also examines sport system governance issues, such as stakeholder management, partnerships, networks, and policies.
Mental health & athlete performance
Sommer Christie (English & French)
Assistant Professor, School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences
Professor Christie has worked as a mental performance consultant with various Team Canada groups (including Women’s hockey and wheelchair rugby) and can speak to performance psychology – from raising performance to mental skills and performance - at the Paris Olympics and Paralympic Games.
Natalie Durand-Bush (English & French)
Full Professor, School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences
Natalie.Durand-Bush@uottawa.ca(available as of July 27)
Professor Durand-Bush specializes in mental skills training and assessment, mental health, and coaching psychology. Professor Durand-Bush is also the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Mental Health and Sport (CCMHS), a specialized centre providing sport-informed mental health care, educational programs, and resources to competitive and high-performance athletes, coaches, and support staff.
Canada Women's Soccer Spying scandal
Eric MacIntosh (English only)
Full Professor, School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences
Eric.Macintosh@uottawa.ca
Professor MacIntosh 's work in sports management includes organizational culture, leadership, corporate image and brand. His research delves into the functioning of the organization and how leadership can form and shape organizational culture which can transmit positively internally and outwardly into the marketplace
Cultural / national identity
Christine Dallaire (English & French)
Full Professor, School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences
cdallair@uottawa.ca
Professor Dallaire can contextualize the wider issues revolving around cultural and national identities in the context of the Paris Olympic Games.
Event Organization
Lavagnon Ika (English & French)
Full Professor of Project Management, Telfer School of Management
ika@telfer.uOttawa.ca
Professor Ika is an expert in project management and what it takes to make a project a success. He is available to discuss the project management strategy for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and what must happen – and not – for this event to be hailed as a success or a failure.
Marketing and Sponsorship
Benoit Séguin (English & French)
Full Professor, School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences
bseguin@uottawa.ca
Professor Séguin’s research studies the marketing of sport events and sport organizations with a primary focus on questions related to sponsorship, ambush marketing and brand management, primarily in terms of major sports events such as the Olympic Games.