Our Town A Talk with Leonie H. Mattison, PGI’s CEO and President

by Joanne A Calitri

To celebrate local women of history, this column dedicates the month of March to them – their contributions, their stories, their inspiration, and opportunities to support.

As a Black woman born in Jamaica, West Indies, growing up in Queens, New York City, and deciding to make Santa Barbara home 15 years ago, Leonie H. Mattison, Ed.D., MBA is a story of courage and community, resolve and recovery, determination, and dedication, leading to her appointment October 2022 as the first Black and female CEO and president of Pacifica Graduate Institute (PGI) Montecito in its 46-year history. She is evolving its mission statement forward and created its first-ever Vision Statement to expand the traditions, the techniques, the power and advancement of depth psychology, through education, learning, training, and more.

A recipient of the 2018 Pacific Coast Business Times 40 under 40, she wears her well-deserved awards with the dignity of a leader true to her values. She holds an MBA from Georgian Court University and an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership from Argosy University, and volunteers at Rooted SBC and Central Coast Black Leaders Roundtable.

In her book The Thread: Six Steps to Intentional Transformation After Trauma or Crisis, she pioneered a six-step system called T.H.R.E.A.D.© (Think, Harvest, Release, Enlist, Adopt, and Design) positive outcomes from difficult situations, integrating Jungian psychology, pedagogy, and spiritual practices to transform lives, communities, and organizations.

Daily she connects with God through conversations and meditating on Bible scriptures, time with her three daughters and granddaughter, and walking her rescue dog. Her top-shelf book authors are Brené Brown, Joyce Meyer, T.D. Jakes, Myles Munroe, and John Maxwell, and favorite films, wait for it … Snake Eyes and Kill Bill.

This week, we are going in-depth with “Dr. Lee,” a woman making her-story part of women’s history.

Q. Let’s start with the importance of your position at PGI and its place in women’s history…

A. On Oct. 3, 2022, when I became the first Black woman to serve as President and CEO at Pacifica Graduate Institute, I was overwhelmed with joy. The idea that I would have the opportunity to lead this storied institution with a rich history of academic excellence, innovation, and service was a dream come true. Stepping into this role, I hope my tenure here will empower Black women to follow. With this visibility comes an immense sense of pride and gratitude for being given the space to expand my contributions to communities and transform lives. Positively impacting lives is what women’s history is about, and what PGI is about.

I have expanded the leadership team, with roughly half of our executive team members now women. Our interim provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Vice President of Enrollment, Senior Director of Alumni Relations, and yours truly are all women in executive leadership. Most of our world-renowned faculty, staff, learners, board of trustees members and alumni are pioneering women in leadership.

Professionally, I believe that this is a journey I could replicate for our community. In the Jungian sense, this is the triumph of that Middle Life journey, overcoming difficulties and fully embracing the adult psyche. Many women we honor during Women’s History Month have done this, shaping their narratives by living their lives on their terms. They heard the clarion calls for rebirth and heeded them, pushing through the burden to experience the beauty.

That’s what I must do; on a greater level, it’s what we all must do.