Ingrid Mattson (born August 24, 1963) is a Canadian activist and scholar. A professor of Islamic studies, she is currently the London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University College at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. Mattson is a former president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and was described as "Perhaps the most noticed figure among American Muslim women" in a 2010 New York Times article. Early life and background Ingrid Mattson, the sixth of seven children, was born in 1963 in Kingston, Ontario, where she spent her childhood and attended Catholic schools. She credits the Catholic women who educated her with providing "a fantastic education" and "a place to explore and develop this early, youthful spirituality". She studied Philosophy and Fine Arts at the University of Waterloo in Canada from 1982–87. As part of her course of study, she spent summer of 1986 as a visiting student in Paris, France. During this time, she befriended West African students from a Sufi Muslim community. On reading the Qur'an, she found, "an awareness of God, for the first time since I was very young." After returning to Waterloo, she converted to Islam in 1987. She completed her studies in Waterloo and earned combined Bachelor of Arts degrees in Philosophy and Fine Arts in 1987. Advanced education and early career Ingrid Mattson received a PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago in 1999. She then served as a Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations from 1998–2012 at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut. During that period, she founded the first accredited graduate program for Muslim chaplains in America. For a number of years she was also the Director of the MacDonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary. While serving as the vice-president and president of the Islamic Society of North America, Mattson worked on a number of occasions with United States government officials. She provided consultation during the administrations of US Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. This work focused on policies regarding violent extremism, Muslim-American military service, and protection of civil rights for Muslims-Americans . John O. Brennan, the Director of the CIA, when he was Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and Assistant to President Obama thanked Mattson for her leadership at a public meeting at