LaTasha Lester

LaTasha Lester serves as technical supervisor and lab manager in the clinical laboratory industry, a role she has held for about six years while also managing quality systems. With 22 years in the laboratory space since starting around 2002, her career path includes work in environmental science, oil and gas, and a brief stint in pharmaceuticals before returning to clinical labs. She earned a biology degree with a minor in chemistry after initially pursuing nursing, and obtained TCEQ certification as a water analyst through college mentors, which launched her lab career. In her current position, she oversees quality assurance to ensure compliance with CLIA, CAP, and CMS regulations, manages quality controls on screening instruments and LCMS for drug confirmation, supervises scientists handling sample accessioning, extraction, and analysis, and releases reports to doctors. LaTasha received an EHS award at Halliburton for site compliance with OSHA and takes pride in training employees to succeed in future roles. She advises being flexible, open to learning new tasks as stepping stones, and pushing forward despite challenges like gaining initial experience or internal favoritism in promotions. Outside her professional life, she volunteers or donates to homeless shelters.