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!