Spotlight Series: Zarna Naik

Zarna Naik has 8+ years of experience on the Salesforce platform. She was a user of Salesforce portals for about 2 years before going on to work for a leading Salesforce partner in the US. Zarna moved back to her hometown, Mumbai, India, in 2012 where she incorporated YES CRM Consultants. She is a big fan of the Harry Potter series 😊 and she loves to make useful products out of scrap. Zarna discovered Ladies Be Architects from Google!

What feelings did Ladies Be Architects inspire within you?

“I am a working mom. Seeing so many Women Architects out there encouraged & motivated me that we can have the best of both worlds.”

Tell us why the CTA journey is important to you...

“I aim to become a Salesforce expert and increase my knowledge on an ongoing basis. I would love to connect with others who have already gone through the process.”

Spotlight Series: Ashley Allen

Ashley Allen was born and raised in Southern California, USA. They’re an entrepreneur, mother of 3, a non-binary lesbian and Salesforce consultant.

Shortly out of college, having just relocated to Buffalo, NY with their now ex-husband, Ashley found out they were pregnant with their second daughter. Broke and desperate for a job, they wanted to find work at home so that they could keep working after the baby was born. Ashley couldn’t afford to take time off due to being on partial government assistance at the time, and skipping work meant there wouldn’t be any food on the table.

After a month of applying to any job that would accept applications, Ashley was finally hired by someone who was willing to train the right candidate. In 2011 they started their first job out of college doing Salesforce – working from home. Ashley never looked back – since then they grew their Salesforce career and in 2017 they founded their own Salesforce consulting company, ITequality.

As a business owner, I am passionate about diversity in all its forms. I promote LGBT visibility and inclusion, women in technology, and diversity inclusion efforts.

Tell us how you heard about Ladies Be Architects?

“Someone on the Trailblazer community tagged me in a post, and the Ladies Be Architects group looked interesting. I have always wanted to be a Certified Technical Architect (CTA) but its always been more of a pipe dream, not a reality I could achieve. As a firm supporter of diversity in tech, I believe it is critical to have more women architects to be role models for the next generation.”

What feelings did Ladies Be Architects inspire within you?

“At the Dreamforce 2017 gathering, I was really happy to see other women interested in becoming a Technical Architect. I am really excited and passionate about being a part of a group of incredible women.”

Tell us why the CTA journey is important to you...

“As a mom of 3 girls, becoming a CTA will be a way to show them even if today there are only a few women who have achieved a particular goal, that is not a reflection of how capable you are. I want to see a day where women are equally represented in technology, and I know that it’s not going to happen unless I am willing stand up and do something about it myself.”

That’s really inspiring! What’s the next step for you on your Journey to CTA?

“The biggest setback I have is with prioritizing studying and taking certification exams. I have serious anxiety that needs to be managed by not overcommitting myself to too many things at a time. If I were to make time for the CTA path, I would need to cut back on something else. For me, its a matter of ROI. The return on my time investment is personal satisfaction and accomplishment. There would be no financial gain for me, in fact the cost of the exam is something that is holding me back.”

Do you have any concerns or doubts about the architect credentials? What help do you need?

“If I could find a sponsor to pay for the 5k exam that would be wonderful. I would also love to see a list of tangible benefits after earning the CTA certification.”

Thank you for taking part, Ashley! We wish you all the very best for your architect journey.

Spotlight Series: Niki Vankerk

Niki is one of our study group leaders; she’s been facilitating a weekly integration study group with Nadina, Susannah and Edith and it’s been a great resource. We are very pleased to feature her story.

Niki started out on Salesforce with an Admin bootcamp way back in 2002, then began her own consulting business in 2004 – working exclusively on Salesforce. She’s never looked back. When she’s not working, Niki loves to play board games and be on the water in any type of vessel.

Niki lives with her wife and 5yr old son in small village north of Whistler, British Columbia, with about 1,500 people and almost as many dogs. Whilst the family has no dogs, Niki’s partner runs their family farm, which has 2 cows, 12 chickens, 5 ducks, 2 dogs and 4 hives of bees, along with the occasional bear dropping by to visit.

A little known fact is that Niki tried to make the 2000 Sydney Olympics in rowing. She managed a 6th place finish in Canada in a Single! Whilst it wasn’t quite enough to wear the maple leaf, it was a significant achievement and, in her own words, enough for Niki to be happy with her attempt, run out of money and go get a job.

Tell us how you heard about Ladies Be Architects?

“I wanted to get serious about working towards the CTA end of last year and needed to find / build a gang. I started working on a new community with a questionnaire to get to know women that wanted to join and the day before I was ready to launch I saw Ladies be Architects in the Partner Community. Great minds think alike so I jumped on board.”

What feelings did Ladies Be Architects inspire within you?

“It is wonderful to have a community of people working towards the same goal, and to see so many women take steps along with me is inspiring.”

Tell us why the CTA journey is important to you...

“I have worked on my own to gain my 15 years of experience with Salesforce and feel like its time to quantify my hard work, to meet others that also want to find the best solution for our customers and have the motivation to keep learning as the product continues to grow.

“Already, getting the Platform Dev 2 and working on the Systems Architect certs has paid off with better quality development and more well rounded solutions.”

What’s the next step for you on your Journey to CTA?

“I’m working on my last certification of the ‘triangle’, Integration, and then will look to continue practicing the technical aspects while I hone my presentation and draw-diagrams-under-pressure skills.”

What doubts do you have about the architect credentials – and how can we help you?

“Looking to keep motivated while I carry a full client load and also find others to practice mock scenarios and get honest feedback.”

You’ve definitely come to the right place and we’re here to support every step of the way. Keep an eye out for some more mock review boards as we continue our journeys!