Her Story
About Kiera
Kiera Matlock is a laboratory manager in the cannabis testing industry with more than five years of experience. She leads a team of 10 technicians and analysts, ensuring smooth daily operations, providing training on new testing methods, and handling specialized testing such as PCR and speciations for client samples. Her responsibilities also include managing timesheets, client reporting, spreadsheets, updating standard operating procedures, and preparing weekly workload plans. Kiera holds an undergraduate degree from Coppin State University, which she attended on a full scholarship, and a master's degree in biomedical diagnostics from Arizona State University, completed in July 2021. As the first and only Black woman in a management role at her company across eight states, she attributes her success to her drive to achieve for herself and to demonstrate to her daughters that the sky is the limit. She values teamwork in her professional life and places family first personally. Kiera advises never stopping learning and encourages young women entering the field not to take no for an answer.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kiera
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think wanting for myself, and wanting to show my girls that the sky's the limit. So I have to show my girls like you can do any and everything you put your mind to. Like everything that I do, I do it for them and with them in mind.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Never stop learning. There's always something to learn. For my specific state we know that there's specific testing that we do just in Maryland but our other labs in different states they do different types of testing so I took it upon myself to just try to learn everything that I can. Because you never know when you'll need that skill or when you'll need to use that information. So like my boss always said you know always be willing to learn.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't take no for an answer. If you see that you wanna if you find a path that you wanna take just take it and do everything you can do to get to where your what your goal is. Being one of the few women and then the only Black woman in management a lot of times I'm told no. But I really have to give them facts and show them that I know what I'm talking about I know what I'm doing. So sometimes I do feel like I have to always prove myself but if I would have took no for an answer I would have just stopped and I would have never progressed.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Opportunities because the cannabis industry is new to the regulation world. In Maryland we just approved it for recreational use and now it's on that cusp of being approved federally so that opens up a world of opportunity and it gives us more chances to open up labs in different in more than just the 8 states that we're already in. Some challenges is that because everybody sees that the cannabis industry is on a rise it is also starting to become oversaturated so it becomes challenging as far as keeping your clientele up. Because with all these labs opening up now we're having more competition in the cannabis laboratory testing world.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In work I think it'll be just teamwork being a good team player. And personal my personal life it's definitely family. Family first.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.