Rate My Professor Arianne Reis

Associate Professor Arianne Reis is an Associate Professor in Leisure and Recreation Studies in the School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health at Western Sydney University. She is the Director of the University's World Leisure Centre of Excellence and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Leisure Research. Reis earned her PhD in outdoor recreation from the University of Otago in New Zealand. She began her career as a physical education teacher and sports coach in low-income and disadvantaged communities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Over 10 years, she provided active leisure opportunities for children and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with physical and mental disabilities, also serving as a project manager at state departments of sport and leisure. After completing her PhD, she moved to Australia as a Research Fellow at Southern Cross University before joining Western Sydney University.

Reis's research focuses on leisure and recreation, mental health and wellbeing, nature-based health interventions, mental health literacy, physical activity participation, social justice, and support for disadvantaged groups such as low-income communities, culturally and linguistically diverse populations, and refugees. She has secured over $1 million in external research grants in the past five years and leads the Commonwealth-funded Young Well Beings project, a digital learning resource co-designed by young mothers to enhance perinatal mental health literacy. Her publications include 'Australian young mothers’ experience of mental health and wellbeing during their perinatal journey' (2026, Youth & Society), 'Risky outdoor play and adventure education in nature for child and adolescent wellbeing: a scoping review' (2025, Behavioral Sciences), 'Recreation and leisure in Brazil' (2025, Introduction to Recreation and Leisure), 'Challenges for meaningful participation in prisoner or corrective services research' (2025, Handbook of Sensitive Research in the Social Sciences), and 'An analysis of the suitability of public spaces to physical activity practice in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil' (2013). Reis has earned awards including AdvanceHE Senior Fellow (2021), Council of Academic Public Health Institutions Australasia Teaching Award (2021), ANZALS Thesis of the Year Award (2011), and Excellence in University Engagement and Sustainability Award (2020). Her contributions align with UN Sustainable Development Goals including Good Health and Well-being and Reduced Inequalities.