CHI Welcomes New Executive Director, Leah Mathiason

February 3, 2020

CHI is proud to welcome our new Executive Director, Leah Mathiason, to the team! Leah and Annie will work alongside each other to ensure that the transition of leadership is as seamless as possible. We're so excited to have her join CHI as we continue to work towards our mission. Until the work is done.

Take a look below to learn more about Leah and her background.

​Leah Mathiason has dedicated her energy and talents to a career in public service, seeking to address the challenges facing her community and world.  She has a law degree from the University of Saint Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, MN, and practiced for many years in public defense.  She also has a B.A. in English from Hamline University in Saint Paul, MN, and reads a lot of books.  She is a DONA-certified postpartum doula, a certified lactation counselor, and is passionate about providing support for families in those precious and crucial first weeks postpartum.  Recently, she has worked in this capacity for Ramsey County Public Health, serving on the front lines to get evidence-based lactation support and information to low-income families.  A lover of good food and a hawkish problem-solver, Leah and some neighbors founded a farmers market to address their neighborhood’s food desert, a market that is still going strong!  In 2013, Leah was accepted as a U.S. State Department Partners of the Americas Legislative Fellow and traveled to Haiti.  During the three-week intensive in Port-au-Prince, she studied the country’s legal system, made new friends, and gained an abiding affection for Haiti.  Leah currently lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two young children.  When she’s not reading, you can find her in the dirt, growing food, throwing snowballs at her kids, or plotting her next adventure.  She is thrilled to be part of the CHI family and is determined to carry the mission forward.