Nakia Harlan

About Nakia Harlan

I am a senior operations and quality leader with two-decades of progressive experience in the pharmaceuticals and biologics field, specializing in multi-site performance, organizational transformation, and leadership development. My work centers on elevating the performance, culture, and compliance of complex operations through a blend of strategic clarity, quality rigor, and human-centered leadership.Across my career, I have supported 300+ plasma and biologics centers nationwide, serving as a bridge between Operations, Quality, Training, and Regulatory teams. I excel at stabilizing underperforming environments, strengthening audit readiness, improving process consistency, and building leadership pipelines that sustain performance long after support concludes.My approach is grounded in: • Operational discipline and systems thinking • Quality and regulatory alignment (cGMP, FDA, OSHA) • Data-driven decision-making • Training architecture and capability development • Culture work that strengthens accountability, clarity, and engagementI have led structural improvements in field support delivery, reduced repeat support visits through redesign, and supported the growth of leaders who advanced into higher-level roles. I have also guided new center openings, trained multi-functional teams, rebuilt operational culture, and strengthened cross-functional partnerships to ensure unified execution of organizational priorities.I am passionate about developing leaders, simplifying complex problems, and helping organizations create operational environments where people perform well, processes make sense, and quality is lived not just inspected.

Experience

1. Senior Manager, Operations Center Support

   CSL

   Aug 2025 — Present

Education

• The Prairie School

  College Prep

  1996 — 2001

• Columbia College Chicago

  Bachelor of Fine Arts - BFA, Acting

  2003 — 2004

• JI Case High School

  High School Diploma

  2001 — 2003