Marie Leake, M.A., University of Virginia 

Marie Leake is a first-year doctoral student studying Kinesiology for Individuals with Disabilities within the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. Prior to beginning this doctoral program, Marie received both her Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and Master of Arts in Teaching in Physical and Health Education from James Madison University. It was during this time that she was introduced to disability sports and many volunteer opportunities to work with children with disabilities in physical activity settings. While at JMU, Marie also had the opportunity to assist with disability sports research and host a wheelchair-based Paralympic School Day at a rural Virginia high school. Marie looks forward to continuing this line of research as a tool to combat teacher burnout and to increase teacher confidence when interacting with students with disabilities. This educational opportunity will lead Marie to a career in academia where she will be in a position to help equip the next generation of teachers with the skills needed to develop an inclusive classroom environment.

There are three main areas of research in which Marie is currently interested: Behavior change towards individuals with disabilities, occupational socialization of physical and health education teachers, and the accessibility of sport for individuals with disabilities.

Education 

M.A., Teaching in Physical and Health Education, James Madison University

B.S., Kinesiology, James Madison University