Stephanie Lurch

BSc. PT & M.Ed Adult Education and Community Development

Stephanie Lurch's headshot
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream

Stephanie is a contemporary educator who resists the traditional and in doing so stimulates critical thinking. She is a storyteller, educator, activist, humanitarian, and physiotherapist.

Aiming to bridge the gap between academia and the street, Stephanie has worked across multiple settings in the healthcare and education sectors, leveraging her Master of Education and Bachelor of Physical Therapy degrees. Within the Department, Stephanie is the Academic Lead for Equity, Anti-racism, and Social Accountability. She co-develops and delivers the SPEC (social, political, ethical, cultural) curriculum, where she is recognized for integrating social justice and the arts into healthcare education. Her teaching also includes neuroscience and pediatrics for both the MScPT Program and the Ontario Internationally Educated Bridging Program.

Stephanie works as a pediatric physiotherapist in the community and is the Senior Advisor, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion for the Children’s Treatment Network. She has served as a peer reviewer for the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario, governs on the Board of Directors at Flemingdon Health Centre, and is a founding member of the Black Physiotherapy Association. Her past achievements include, but are not limited to, co-authoring the Essential Competency Profile for Physiotherapists in Canada (2017), collaboratively leading the Anti-Black Racism Accreditation Task Force, working with the Cirque du Soleil, and providing thought leadership to both learners and key opinion leaders.

Stephanie has recently been appointed to the rank of Assistant Clinical Professor (adjunct) in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University.

Research & Scholarly Activities

  • Equity, Diversity, Inclusion
  • Anti-oppression, Anti-racism
  • Neuroscience
  • Pediatrics

Teaching

  1. SPEC: Critical Race Studies, Arts-informed Critical Reflexivity
  2. Neuroscience
  3. Pediatrics

Appointments

  • Assistant Professor (teaching stream), Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto
  • Assistant Clinical Professor (adjunct), School of Rehabilitation Sciences, MacMaster University

Publications

Lurch, S., Cobbing, S., Chetty, V., & Maddocks, S. (2023a, June 6). Challenging Power and unearned privilege in physiotherapy: Lessons from Africa. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fresc.2023.1175531/full