Why Dr. Strean?

There is one thing missing in many of our lives, our teams, and in our communities...and that is simply joy!

Dr. Billy Strean has spent a lifetime seeking solutions and developing practices to help others find their joy, re-connect with their natural sense of awe, and create more aha moments!

His practice of joy has been developed over decades as a university professor and multi-disciplinary practitioner.

To Billy, joy is both a destination and a journey.

The destination is what he refers to as a “Joy State of Being.”

The journey is the daily practice of joy.

And like any practice, the more we practice, the better we become at creating habits. Those habits can open us to more joy, awe and aha moments.

Is This Your Guy?

Dr. Billy Strean
  • Former NCAA

    Athlete and Coach

  • Ph.D.

    in Sport and Exercise Psychology

  • Professor

    at the University of Alberta

  • Rutherford Award for Excellence

    in Undergraduate Teaching (University of Alberta, 2008)

  • 3M National Teaching Fellowship

    (Canada’s highest teaching honour, 2011)

  • Master

    Somatic Coach

  • Registered

    Yoga Teacher (RYT-500)

  • Certified

    Laughter Yoga Teacher and Professional Co-active Coach.

It is precisely this eclectic range of disciplines and fields of study — as well as 30 years of teaching experience — that put Dr. Strean in a class of his own as a coach, a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator and retreat leader.

C.V.

Education

Ph.D. – University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois (1993)
Concentration: Sport and Exercise Psychology

M.A. – University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa (1988)
Concentrations: Philosophy and Psychology of Sport

B.A. – Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa (1986)
Major: Philosophy

Professional Coaching & Sport Psychology/Mental Training

Master Somatic Coach (Strozzi Institute, 2016)
Certified Somatic Coach (Strozzi Institute, 2004)
Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (The Coaches Training Institute, 2001)
Canadian Mental Training Registry (1993)

Yoga Certifications

Registered Yoga Teacher-500 (Yoga Alliance, April 2018)
Registered Yoga Teacher-200 (Yoga Alliance, July 2016)
Certified Yin Yoga Instructor (Yoga Alliance, February 2016)

Certifications of Jocularity & Mirth

Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher (Laughter Yoga International, 2007)
Certified Laughter Yoga Leader (Laughter Yoga International, 2007)
Certified Laughter Leader (World Laughter Tour, 2004)

Here are some of the clients Billy has worked with:

Yale University School of Management – New Haven, CT
Enbridge
Wellspring – Edmonton, AB
Human Services, Government of Alberta
Forestry Division – Alberta Sustainable Development
Heart & Stroke New Brunswick
Northern Ontario School of Medicine
Institute for Physical Education, Thailand
National Judges Institute
Forzani Group
City of St. Albert
Vancouver Inner City Schools
Alberta Infrastructure & Transportation
Stantec
Alberta Children & Youth Services
Cross Cancer Institute
Alberta Advanced Education and Technology
Public Works and Government Services Canada – Enoch, AB
Alberta Entrepreneurs’ Association
Afton School – Edmonton, AB
Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa
Washington Coalition for Campus Children’s Centers
ATB Financial
Vital Grandin School – St. Albert, AB
Canadian Natural Resources, Ft. McMurray, AB
Alberta Health Services
Alberta Office of the Child and Youth Advocate

Synchronicity Magazine
Fall Focus for Farm Women – Camrose, AB
Capital Health Patient Relations – Edmonton
Washington State Association for Health Care Recruitment – Seattle, WA
Faculty of Education, University of Alberta – Edmonton
Cardiac Athletic Society of Edmonton
Bantrel
Alberta Employment, Immigration, and Industry
Alberta Justice
Orthodontics Graduate Program, University of Alberta
Valued Lives Conference, Wenatchee, WA
Northern Alberta Renal Program – Edmonton
Parkland Head Injury Association – Stony Plain, AB
Stollery Children’s Hospital Staff – Edmonton
Information Technology, City of Edmonton
Alberta Medical Association
Association of Information and Records – Red Deer, AB.
Canadian Parish Nursing
First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Health Canada – Canmore, AB Edmonton Lifelong Learners Association
Interior Health – Kelowna, BC
NorQuest College
Dalhousie University – Halifax, NS
Associated Engineering – Edmonton
Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Society
Bellevue Community College – Bellevue, WA

Books

Strean, B. (2018). Alive With Joy! Edmonton: Adventures in Joy.

Strean, B. (2017). For those who dare to teach. Edmonton, AB: Atreverse Press.

Strean, B. (2022). Humor me: Lighten up and love life laughing. [Kindle edition]. New York: Random HAs.

Strean, B. (2022). Humor me: Lighten up and love life laughing[Audible edition] New York: Random HAs

Strean, W. B. (1998). Developing critical thinking. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt.

Selected Articles

Strean, W. B. (2023). Ontological Inquiry in an Undergraduate Communication Course. Turning Toward Being: The Journal of Ontological Inquiry in Education,1(2), Article 6.  Available at: https://rdw.rowan.edu/joie/vol1/iss2/6

Hosan, N. E., Smith, V., Strean, W. B., Sibinga, E., Punja, S. & Vohra, S. (2022).  The “what,” “why,” and “when” of using mindfulness in schools: Best practices and guidance for educators and policymakers. Theory into Practice: Controversies in Education: Separating Fact from Fiction, 61(4), 465-476.

Strean, W. B., Maher, P., & Brooks, K. (2019). Train wrecks: 3M National Teaching Fellows explore creating learning and generative responses from colossal failures. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 12, 119-126.

Strean, W. B. (2016). Do yogis have “learning styles”?  International Journal of Yoga Research.10(1), 37-39.

Strean, W. B. (2016). Communities of Practice: A mindful opportunity. Transformative Dialogues: Teaching & Learning Journal, 9(1), 1-4.

Cassidy, A., Wright, A., Strean, W. B., Watson, G. (2015). The interplay of space, place and identity Transforming our learning experiences in an outdoor setting. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching.

Strean, W. B. (2013). Using movement, music, and humor as creative approaches to enhance student engagement. In E.G. Carayannis (ed.), Encyclopedia of Creativity, Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, DOI 10.1007/978.

Strean, W. B. (2012). Exhilarated learning and the scholarship of engagement: From here (the university) to the horizon (the community). Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 5, 179-183.

Strean, W. B. (2012). The human connection dimension. Interdivisional Review, 2(1).

Strean, W. B. (2011). Creating student engagement? HMM: Teaching and learning with Humor, Music, and Movement. Creative Education, 2, (3), 189-192.

Strean, W. B. (2010). Moving (literally) to engage students: Putting the (physically) active in active learning. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 3, 33-37.

Strean, W. B. (2009). Remembering instructors: Play, pain, and pedagogy. Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise, , 1, 210-220.

Strean, W. B. (2009). The Laughter Prescription. Canadian Family Physician, 55, 965-967.

Strean W. B. & Strozzi-Heckler, R. (2009). (The) Body (of) Knowledge: Somatic contributions to sport psychology. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 21(1), 91 – 98.

Strean, W. B. (2008). Evolving toward laughter in learning. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 1, 165-171.

Strean, W. B. & Henderson, B. (2007). Mining our experiences: Reflecting on the subtle interpersonal dimension of teaching and learning. MountainRise, 4(1), 1-11.

Recent Refereed Presentations

Okabe, M., Long, J. & Strean, W. B. (2021, May 5). Mentor-morphosis: Navigating through Cycles of Learning and Self Exploration in Higher Ed. University of Calgary Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching. Calgary, Alberta.

Strean, W. B. (2019, June 14). Welcome to my classroom: Building the grounds for play. Presented to Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Annual Conference, Winnipeg.

Strean, W. B. (2019, June 13). Guiding the learning journey in joy: Weaving spirit, story, & awareness to shift from surviving to thriving. Presented to Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Annual Conference, Winnipeg.

Strean, W. B., Maher, P., Flynn, A., & Brooks, K. (2018, June 22). 3M Trainwrecks. Presented to Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Annual Conference, Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Strean, W. B. (2017, June 22). Yoga as a gateway to enhancing teaching and learning. Presented to Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Annual Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Strean, W. B., Kolen, A., Sable, D., & Kevany, K. (2017, June 21). Mindfulness and self-awareness:  Gateways to teaching and learning in higher education. Presented to Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Annual Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Strean, W. B. (2017, April 7). ALIVE: A comprehensive model for flourishing and thriving. Presented to Live Active Summit, Edmonton, AB.

Strean, W. B. (2017, March 24). Reflecting compassionately: Using personal experiences to enhance teaching and learning. Presented to Dr. Olive Yonge Teaching and Learning Scholarship Day, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB.

Strean, W. B. (2017, March 24). Contextualizing mindfulness in the framework of yoga for greater value in teaching and learning in higher education. Presented to Dr. Olive Yonge Teaching and Learning Scholarship Day, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB.

Strean, W. B. (2016, December 5). What if you really want your audience to learn? Presented to the National convention of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers, Edmonton, AB.

Strean, W. B. (2016, June 23). Welcome to my classroom: Empowering learners by creating human connection. Presented at Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. London, ON.

Strean, W. B. (2016, June 21). Exhilarated Teaching, Exhilarated Learning. Workshop presented at Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. London, ON.

Strean, W. B. (2014, October 8). The human side of engagement: Interpersonal skills for whole people. Engagement Scholarship Consortium, Edmonton, AB.

Strean, W. B. (2014, June 19). Listening for leaders: Beginning the pedagogy of ontology. Presented to Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Kingston, ON.

Wright, A., Strean, W. B., Cassidy, A., & Watson, G. (2014, June 17). Transforming our learning experiences: Paradigms and paddling pedagogies. Presented to Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Kingston, ON.