Carol S. Pearson, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized scholar and well-known author of numerous books, among them the bestselling The Hero Within, Awakening the Heroes Within, The Hero and the Outlaw, and Magic at Work. Her forthcoming book, Persephone Rising: Awakening the Heroine Within, will be published in October 2015 and is available for advance orders.

Dr. Pearson's most recent book, The Transforming Leader, is an edited collection of cutting edge essays on the challenges facing leaders in the 21st century that grew out of the Fetzer Institute's Leadership for Transformation Project, for which she was principal investigator. The Transforming Leader was honored by the International Leadership Association for for making a significant contribution to the field of leadership.

Dr. Pearson previously was executive vice president and provost and later president of Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, CA. She has been a senior administrator and professor at higher education institutions including the University of Colorado, the University of Maryland, Georgetown University, and Goucher College; a consultant for multinational corporations and government agencies; and a popular public speaker and workshop leader. Before going to Pacifica, she was executive director of the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership at the University of Maryland, a professor in the UM School of Public Policy, and a member of the executive committee of the International Leadership Association. Earlier in her career, she was President of CASA: the Center for Archetypal Studies and Applications; President of Meristem, a nonprofit educational organization; and senior editor of The Inner Edge: A Resource for Enlightened Business Practice. She currently lives in Santa Barbara with her husband of 40 years.