Marika Warner applied for her job at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment from a surf camp in Hawaii. She got it — and now directs research and insights for one of Canada's largest sports and entertainment companies.
A trained dancer with an undergraduate physiotherapy degree from the University of Alberta, Warner worked as a physiotherapist at Toronto Rehab, running stroke and brain-injury patients through aerobic protocols. Her research found the exercise was safe, feasible, and eased depressive symptoms.
Movement was my “medicine” and physiotherapy felt like a natural career path.Marika Warner
She completed her MSc at U of T's Rehabilitation Sciences Institute in 2008, mentored in part by colleague Elizabeth Inness, who showed her how to blend research with clinical practice. Along the way she designed a physiotherapy program at Regent Park Community Health Centre serving some 20,000 patients.
Today Warner splits her time between Scotiabank Arena and MLSE LaunchPad, a 42,000-square-foot sport-for-development facility, on projects like the provincial Change the Game initiative. Research now makes up 60 to 65 per cent of her job — and she hopes to pursue a PhD on corporate social responsibility strategy in professional sport.
Reported from U of T alum Marika Warner is building a new chapter of corporate social responsibility through sport, by Not stated (originally published by Temerty Faculty of Medicine) (U of T Alumni News, May 8, 2026).
More from the original reporting: alumni.utoronto.ca/news/u-t-alum-marika-warner-building-new-chapter-corporate-social-responsibility-through-sport