What is your name and occupation?
Kristie Mayfield, I work for Oracle Corporation, a technology company, in its Customer Success Services organization. My job is to develop programs designed to train and enable sales reps to sell our services to customers – these services are designed to help customers use Oracle’s products and technology more efficiently.
What were you doing before your role at Oracle?
I have been in the Information Technology space my entire life and have had several different roles, with humble beginnings as an administrative assistant at the young age of 18, to positions within Procurement, managing Projects and Programs, to my role today in leading go-to-market and enablement.
What advice do you have for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
Information Technology is still a male-dominated field, although women have made some incredible strides over the years in this space. In fact, the majority of the people on my team are women. And, as a woman, you need to hold yourself to a higher level of excellence and honestly try harder to make the same progress as a man. I’m constantly asking myself, what would ‘Dolly’ do in this situation? There are some great examples of how Dolly Parton addressed the media when her integrity and intelligence were questioned. If you can adopt a posture of respect, grace, and curiosity in everything you do, you will find that you get that same respect and courtesy in return.
What is something about your career that might surprise people?
Aside from my immediate family, most people (especially those that I work with) are unaware that I don’t have a formal college education. Earlier in my career, this held me back from speaking up in meetings as I just assumed everyone was smarter than I was, and even worse, it stopped me in my tracks from applying for other jobs or even asking for a raise or promotion. In hindsight, I believe this was God’s design. I viewed not having a degree as my weakness for most of my career, and then one day, it dawned on me. This is actually my superpower. It has kept me humble and extremely focused and curious. I have become an active listener, paying attention to the smallest of details, wanting to learn everything I can. I ask a lot of questions that spawn discussions that may uncover different perspectives or ideas on how to approach and do things. I know I don’t know it all, so I’m continually curious, a constant learner always picking up new skills.
You are a mentor in West Virginia Women Work’s PartnerUp program. What does mentorship mean to you?
I am honored to be a part of the PartnerUp program. It’s an opportunity for me to get back to my roots and help other women who are entering male-dominated fields so they can learn how grit and a growth mindset can be a driving force in going from just surviving to thriving and supporting their families. I want to see them breaking generational curses and overcoming limited mindsets that are whispering to them that they can only go so far. At the end of the day, I really want to help others uncover their superpowers so that in 10 years, they can pay it forward to the next generation of upcoming women leaders, doers, and those making a difference in the world.
You and your daughter started an amazing project that helps women living in poverty. Would you mind telling me about that?
The Period Poverty Project kicked off in the fall of 2024. The idea was born when I listened to a financial podcast designed specifically for women. There was a speaker on it who talked about her experience growing up in the streets of New York City and passing by homeless women on a daily basis. She had conversations with them, and she was surprised at the fact that they didn’t have access to feminine hygiene supplies. The women were using cardboard boxes or anything they could find to use as a makeshift pad.
This podcast really hit a nerve for me. I grew up in a single-parent home where we lived at or below the poverty level, and I can remember times in my life when we may have had a pack of Oodles of Noodles and a loaf of bread to last us for a couple of days. I was left thinking about how feminine supplies are such expensive products. If a parent has to make a choice between soup and bread or an extra pack of tampons, what will they choose?
We see a lot of young ladies and women in our very own community who can’t afford these products and miss school or work because they don’t have adequate supplies. No one should feel the embarrassment or stigma of having a period. So, my youngest daughter and I launched the Period Poverty Project, where we work with the community to raise awareness about the stigma associated with periods and educate people about the fact that many period supplies are taxed at luxury rates, despite the fact that they are an essential item. We want to help young ladies and women embrace their femininity and overcome the shame of having a period, while helping those in need. The heart of the project is our partnership with local businesses that serve as collection locations. We donate the collected supplies to places within the community who can then distribute them to the people who are truly in need. During our fall drive, we collected 42 boxes containing a total of 766 pads and 929 tampons. If you do the math, this amount of supplies equates to a monetary donation of over $500.00.
We recently kicked off our spring project, and I am teaming up with my older daughter. Our goal is to work with different businesses each time to continually spread awareness throughout multiple areas in our community and help a variety of organizations along the way.
Period supplies are a necessity, not a luxury. Let’s fight period poverty together, one box at a time!
Donations can be dropped off at our WV Women Work headquarters in Morgantown – 201 New Jersey St. Morgantown, WV 26501, Monday – Thursday 8 AM – 2 PM.
Interview conducted, transcribed, and written by Marlynda Arnett, Program Innovation Leader for West Virginia Women Work.
