President & CEO | Institutional Transformation Strategist | Equity-Driven Change Leader
Dr. Leonie H. Mattison is an award-winning organizational development scholar-practitioner, internationally recognized speaker, and trauma-transformation advocate with 20+ years of cross-sector leadership driving transformation in higher education, government, and nonprofit sectors. She specializes in turning disruption into opportunity, repositioning institutions through strategic redesign, cultural renewal, and digital innovation.
Known for leading with high engagement, vision, and integrity, Dr. Mattison has scaled online programs, consolidated campuses, expanded enrollment pipelines, impacted a $1Billion budget, and raised over $300 M+ in public impact initiatives. Her T.H.R.E.A.D. System™ equips organizations to lead change with clarity and compassion, blending healing-centered leadership with measurable results.
Strategic Impact Areas:
- Institutional Turnaround: Led multi-campus transformations, aligning mission, market, and governance.
- Student-Centered Strategy: Increased access and success through data-driven, inclusive systems.
- Equity & Culture: Embedded racial equity and trauma-informed leadership at all levels.
- Revenue & Innovation: Scaled digital learning and diversified funding streams.
- Partnerships & Impact: Built cross-sector coalitions, securing major education and workforce development investments.
Dr. Mattison holds a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership, an MBA, and executive training from the Center for Creative Leadership. Honored among the Top 50 Women in Business and by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, she is a nationally recognized voice for values-driven institutional transformation.
Leadership Philosophy:
"I lead with heart to cultivate belonging, with head to shape visionary strategy, and with hands to deliver bold, lasting change. Leadership, to me, is the integration of empathy, insight, and action where people and purpose move forward together." - Dr.Leonie H. Mattison
THE T.H.R.E.A.D SYSTEM™
A Transformational Framework for Leading Through Disruption
The T.H.R.E.A.D. System™ is a six-phase journey for individuals and organizations willing to confront disruption, embrace change, and pursue intentional transformation. Rooted in ancestral wisdom and modern systems thinking, it honors what’s broken and holds space for tension, recognizing it as the force that shapes new patterns and reveals deeper beauty. This process empowers leaders to reframe unraveling moments as invitations to reweave what is more authentic, aligned, and whole.
T – Think Deeply
Gain strategic clarity by reflecting on what matters most.
H – Harvest Wisdom
Transform lived experience into insight and foresight.
R – Release Patterns
Let go of systems and beliefs that no longer serve.
E – Enlist Allies
Build reciprocal partnerships rooted in trust and shared vision.
A – Adopt Change
Embody the future through aligned action.
D – Design Wholeness
Create cultures, structures, and legacies that sustain transformation.
MY LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY
HEAD | HEART | HANDS | HEALING
Born of resilience, faith, and cross-sector leadership, my philosophy integrates strategy, soul, and systems change. Over the past two decades, I’ve developed and embodied a holistic model that guides transformational leadership through disruption, reinvention, and high-impact execution. That Head, Heart, Hands, and Healing now lives as the THREAD System™, a transformational framework forged in moments of rupture and renewal. It reflects a core conviction: living, leading, and learning are not a performance of authority, but a sacred act of stewardship, coherence, and courageous hope. This approach equips leaders to navigate complexity and contradiction, move institutions forward while healing what’s been fragmented, and drive innovation without abandoning integrity. It is built for the kind of leadership this moment demands: deeply human, systemically wise, and unapologetically transformative.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP & RESOURCES
Transformational strategies, real-world impact, and courageous conversations that help leaders, teams, and organizations navigate complexity, lead with purpose, and drive meaningful change.
Cross-sector Leadership Feedback
Cross-sector Leadership Feedback
THE THREAD COLLECTION
Trauma recovery self-help books, tools and intervention to empower survivors to achieve intentional transformation.
The T.H.R.E.A.D System
How you, your team and organization can achieve Intentional Transformation
