Lindauer Assists Pacifica Graduate Institute in Recruitment of a New CEO
November 1, 2022 – Boston-based Lindauer has assisted in the recruitment of Leonie Mattison as president and CEO of Pacifica Graduate Institute, a graduate school in Santa Barbara, CA, specializing in depth psychology. She becomes the first black director of the school. Deb Taft and Tensie Taylor led the assignment. “After extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders and a unanimous board vote, we are confident Dr. Mattison is the best leader for Pacifica’s future and we welcome her to the Pacifica community,” said Thyonne Gordon, chair of the board of trustees.
“Following an extensive international search, utilizing Lindauer, our board unanimously selected Dr. Mattison from an inclusive and impressive pool of candidates,” said Dr. Gordon. “Dr. Mattison is a seasoned organizational development professional with over 20 years of experience in transformational leadership. Her contributions have helped strengthen national public health research, regional workforce development, and adult educational reform across the country, continuously elevating and enhancing the profiles of the organizations she’s worked with.”
“With a doctorate and MBA in organizational leadership, Dr. Mattison has a gift for building sustainable organizations through employee engagement, leadership development, and cultivating and appreciating data-driven, transformational growth,” said Dr. Gordon. “Her cross-cultural and inclusive partnerships span across the fabric of organizations internally and externally, solidifying collaborative and unifying partnerships. She has navigated cultures rife with hostility, low employee morale, and poor communication by focusing on people, practices, and performance in an inclusive and shared fashion. This trait was one echoed throughout all stakeholder groups at Pacifica as a necessity, and we are excited with Dr. Mattison’s unique ability to listen and repair.”
Dr. Mattison has an extensive track record. She was pivotal in developing Employees University, an open-source university created through a partnership between the county and Santa Barbara City College that has provided high-quality training and cutting-edge leadership development for over 4,700 county employees. Dr. Mattison served as chief operating officer of CommUnify, a community agency that provides education and support services for vulnerable Santa Barbara residents, and taught as adjunct professor and lecturer at Antioch University and Santa Barbara City College School of Extended Learning. She is also a member of the American Psychological Association, American Christian Counseling Association, and Association of Black Psychologists.
“Pacifica is a leader in depth psychology, a practice that has changed the lives of people across the world, including my own,” said Dr. Mattison. “Pacifica’s mission is to heal souls, and I look forward to working to make sure our institute is in the best position it can be to accomplish that mission worldwide.”
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Pacifica Graduate Institute is an accredited graduate school offering masters and doctoral degree programs framed in the traditions in depth psychology. The Institute has established an educational environment that nourishes respect for cultural diversity and individual differences, and an academic community that fosters a spirit of free and open inquiry.
Serving Non-Profits
Lindauer serves higher and secondary education, hospitals, academic research centers, think tanks, research facilities, and foundations, as well as advocacy, public service, social justice, and other mission-driven non-profits. The firm has led searches for the Boston YMCA, Center for Applied Special Technology, Healthy Minds Innovations/Center for Healthy Minds, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Cockrell School of Engineering, among others.
Ms. Taft, chief executive officer, leads Lindauer with over 25 years of executive and senior-level experience across the non-profit sector, from education to healthcare/academic medicine to the youth service and voluntary sectors. Her expertise includes governance, strategic planning, fundraising, program and staff management, strategic marketing, analytics, and constituent engagement, as well as talent recruitment, retention, and development.
Based in Southern California, Ms. Taylor brings a range of non-profit, regional, and lived experience to Lindauer clients. This includes public and private universities, undergraduate and graduate education, and alumni and external relations. Before coming to Lindauer, Ms. Taylor served in successive leadership roles for the Black Alumni Association at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She also served in roles in recruiting and admissions for the Rossier School of Education and in the Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs for USC. Prior to USC, Ms. Taylor worked on a range of programs for both the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity for North Carolina State University and for former president Erskine Bowles at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
