Ato considers it a blessing to have been involved in social development through sport since 2004 as an educator and Sport for Development practitioner. He considers himself a love warrior, a roots man, and someone committed to social development and Justice. His journey in Sport for development started when he was recruited by the Caribbean Healthy Lifestyle Programme (CHLP) as a peer leader, he later became the regional training officer for the Kicking Aids Out! Initiative. He has been a part of the Caribbean Sport and Development Agency (CSDA) family since 2008, the University of Trinidad and Tobago since 2010, and serves as an examiner for the University of London’s Postgraduate Certificate in International Sports Management programme since Jan 2022. He holds a B.Sc. in Sociology, a post-graduate diploma in Education (teaching social science), an M.Sc. in International Sport for Development, and a Ph.D. in Sport Studies.

Ato’s research interests include:

• Understanding under what conditions can Sport be useful for Psychosocial Development (e.g. personal and community development, crime prevention)
• Sport as a site of Resistance
• West Indies Cricket as a social institution
• Graduateness, Employability, and the Enabling Factors and Barriers
• Safeguarding and Child Protection in Sport
• Sport, Physical Education, and Activity for mitigating Noncommunicable diseases.
• Decolonisation and Liberty in Sport and general society
• Social and Political Philosophies
• Critical Politeness
• Deep-justice-oriented Approaches to serving Autistic and Neurodivergent populations
• Research Methodologies, in particular, mixed methods, innovative methods, and affirming methodologies

Ato is keenly interested in building on the traditions of his intellectual heroes like Walter Rodney and Cornel West of grounding with and serving the wretched of the Earth. His vocational conviction comes from the love that was poured into him by his parents and family, without whom he would have been lost. Ato declares regularly that he is a cracked vessel, a flawed human being that is constantly trying to love his crooked neighbour with his crooked heart.

 Assistant Professor in the Centre for Kinesiology, Physical Education and Sport (Focusing on the Social, Political and Philosophical Aspects of Sports and Society) 

Member of the Mixed Methods International Research Association.