Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Dr. Lisa Pinkney of The Neal Management Group On The 5 Leadership Lessons She Learned From Her Experience

Focus on uplifting the team’s successes and creating a work environment that is encouraging to women. Also, maintain a leadership style that is focused on the work and don’t allow mistakes to impact your focus.

As a part of our series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Lisa Pinkney.

The Neal Management Group CEO and Founder Dr. Lisa Pinkney is a healthcare expert and educator skilled in regulatory compliance. With vast experience in business, laboratory science, quality and program management, and auditing. She previously worked for the DHHS/FDA, the American Red Cross, and Apotex Incorporated and serves as President of Trulieve Georgia.

She has earned a BS from Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia, a certificate from the NIH as a Specialist in Blood Bank, a graduate certificate in Project Management from Keller Graduate School of Management, and a MS and Doctorate of Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I was introduced to the Medical Laboratory Science field when I was in High School. I attended a technical high school and I participated in the Lab Tech program. I was very good at science.

I was introduced to the cannabis industry while I was doing healthcare consulting in 2019 with a physician medical practice in Georgia. The physician asked me if I knew what was going on in the cannabis industry in Georgia and I began to do research on the industry in GA and nationwide. I studied the industry and science behind the actual cannabis plant. The physician and I would actually do literature reviews weekly to learn more about the industry and the science behind the plant. Fast forward 2 years, I partnered with a multi-state operator and the rest is history.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?

I always find it interesting when potential clients call me multiple times and try to “consult” to obtain information on what they should do with their laboratory. Early on I would speak to them 3–4 times, then I realized they were attempting to get guidance for free and I now limit the conversations to 2 meetings.

Another interesting story is when I had a client who had a POL toxicology lab and did not properly validate their testing equipment and received a 20+ inspection report from an accreditation agency. They hired me to bring them into compliance. I implemented the proper processes, but when I was not present in the lab they would cut corners and would not follow the SOPs or my recommendations. With situations like this, I have to determine if the business relationship is worth salvaging and where my cut-off point will be. After several weeks of trying to work with the lab, I resigned from being their Technical Supervisor and ended the business relationship.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

See response above. The mistake is that I would meet with potential clients multiple times and at the same time they were obtaining operational information from me for free. I no longer meet with potential clients 4–5 times. Now I utilize a “Letter of Engagement” where after 2 consultative meetings they will pay me a fee to engage my company to provide services.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

My past experience in the Federal and Private sectors and the company’s status as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) through the state of Georgia. My certifications and credentials include: American Society of Quality Senior Member, Maryland Performance Excellence Awards Judge, Certifications as a Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence and as a Quality Auditor. Education wise I earned a Bachelor of Science from the Medical College of Virginia, a certificate from the National Institutes of Health as a Specialist in Blood Bank, a Master of Science from the University of Maryland Global Campus, a graduate certificate from Keller Graduate School of Management and my Doctorate Degree from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Yes, I am currently working on a customized training program (Continuing Education) that will assist individuals looking to become certified as Medical Laboratory Scientist. The program consists of 10 modules and is considered an accelerated 10 week preparatory course.

Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?

Regarding women in STEM, I always think that we can do more to provide women with more opportunities and I have a passion for encouraging women to do more professionally.

Changes to change the status quo include:

• Better opportunities
• More training programs
• Better coaching of young women into their potential career

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women in STEM or Tech that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?

Challenges could include:

• Lack of empowerment of women in the STEM field
• Low self esteem
• Promotion of the status quo that women should take standard administrative jobs
• Lack of resources

Suggestions to address:

• Encourage parents to start putting their kids in programs early
• Create STEM programs for adolescents and young adults

What are your “5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience as a Woman in STEM or Tech” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Stay focused
2. Accept that you may have setbacks, but you have to keep moving
3. Be resilient
4. Encourage other women after you have made it to a certain level or become successful

What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?

Focus on uplifting the team’s successes and creating a work environment that is encouraging to women. Also, maintain a leadership style that is focused on the work and don’t allow mistakes to impact your focus.

What advice would you give to other women leaders about the best way to manage a large team?

• Ensure you use project management type tools that will ensure your team will be successful (e.g. project chart, project plan, etc.)
• Stay focused
• Keep the goal in mind
• Manage your timeline, expectations, and milestones

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I didn’t have many mentors or coaches earlier on in my career. I feel like I blazed my own path sometimes. In the later years, my sister rose through the ranks in the Federal government. I watched her deal with adversity and it was not pleasant. I learned from her. What I also realized is that I needed to continue to invest in myself. If I didnt no one else would. So now I have an executive coach who assists me with my career in my later years.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I use my success to bring goodness to the world by being a mentor to 2–3 young women. Additionally, I have created a Dr. Lisa Pinkney Scholarship fund at the Virginia Commonwealth University/MCV. The fund will support future undergraduate students who are interested in the Medical Laboratory Science field. My intent is to support the profession and ensure that we continue to support potential MLS majors on their journey into the field.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

My initial thought is to create a movement that would inspire women to have confidence and strength to know that they can be whatever they want to be. Let’s encourage, celebrate and promote each other.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My favorite life lesson quote is “Education is something that can not be taken for granted and that can not be taken away from you. Continue to be a lifelong learner.”

It is relevant because I find education to be a validating experience. As l continued to learn, this process helped build my self-esteem and my self-confidence and it was sort of a self-validating experience. This in turn allowed me to block out any comments that people may think or say about me. I know that I am an intelligent, smart, strong woman and a successful business owner and am very proud of my accomplishments.

We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)

The two people that come to mind are

• Ursula Burns, the first and only African American former CEO of Xerox. She was a trailblazer.
• Rosalind Brewer, the CEO at Walgreens Boots Alliance. he also is the first female to hold this position and she is young and intelligent and she has a science background.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.