It’s International Women’s Day and time to celebrate working in an ecosystem that includes so many talented, inspiring, and influential women. I’m forever grateful to be surrounded on a daily basis, both in person and virtually, by women who are leading the way when it comes to gender equality and making ‘raising up others’ part of their mission.
There are so many that are deserving of a shout-out in the Salesforce ecosystem – this list could easily run into the hundreds and beyond. I’m going to give you my top 10 women I think you should follow, but I would encourage you to comment and share everyone who has made a difference to you as well. Let’s show them some appreciation!
Lilith Van Biesen
Salesforce Certified Technical Architect – Capgemini
Lilith is a Salesforce Certified Technical Architect and newly minted Salesforce MVP in the class of ‘23! She holds 32 certifications!
Lilith is passionate about sharing her knowledge as a CTA and can be found speaking at Salesforce events around the world.
Christie Fidura
Director, Global Developer Marketing – Salesforce
Christie Fidura is Director of Global Developer Marketing at Salesforce, creating global digital marketing campaigns that raise awareness in the developer ecosystem of new features, functions, and technologies.
She is so much more heavily involved in the Salesforce ecosystem though! As her Twitter bio states, “I believe in good code, community, and equality”, and this could not be more accurate. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Christie at multiple events and her passion for Salesforce, technology, and the community is evident.
Christie frequently shares and retweets interesting Salesforce-related posts, so is well worth following to stay up to date, especially for events and developer content.
Vicki Moritz-Henry
Salesforce Architect & Certified Instructor
Vicki is an 18x certified Marketing Champion, Certified Salesforce Instructor, and a brand-new Salesforce MVP in 2023! She is the co-founder of Automation Dreamin’, a frequent speaker at Salesforce events, and a blogger for Salesforce Ben.
Melissa Shepard
Salesforce CTA & Founder – ScaleUp Archs
Melissa is a 32x certified Salesforce Certified Technical Architect! She is pivotal in the Architect community, founding Architect Ohana Slack and ScaleUp Archs: a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping underrepresented groups become Salesforce Architects.
Amanda Beard-Neilson
Portfolio Manager – Capgemini
Amanda is a Salesforce MVP, co-leader of the Salesforce London Admin Community Group, and co-organizer of London’s Calling. She holds multiple Salesforce certifications, is a triple Trailhead Ranger, frequent speaker at Salesforce events, and has her own blog: Diary of a Saasy Girl.
Stacy O’Leary
Salesforce Consultant
Stacy is an independent Salesforce Consultant and frequent blogger at Salesforce Ben. I love the way Stacy writes, conveying complex topics in easy-to-understand tutorials. She is a must-follow if you want fabulous admin content, from dashboards to approval processes – I use her articles all the time!
Louise Lockie
Independent Consultant – Tangara Consulting
Louise is a Salesforce MVP Hall of Fame member and 20x certified Application Architect. She leads the London Women in Tech community group, is a co-organizer of London’s Calling, and is a frequent speaker at Salesforce events.
Look out for her sessions at TrailblazerDX and Dream Ole in March!
Sarah Franklin
President & CMO – Salesforce
Sarah Franklin is the Chief Marketing Officer at Salesforce, having worked there for over 15 years! Sarah has a passion for democratizing technology and empowering everyone to upskill and forge a successful career in technology.
If you want to follow someone who is both successful and authentically themselves, then following Sarah is a no-brainer.
In 2022, I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah as she hosted several feedback sessions. These sessions were an opportunity for community members like myself to give honest, no-holds-barred feedback, direct to Salesforce execs. She navigated questions and concerns with grace and honesty, and is a great representative for Salesforce and their #1 value: trust.
Megan Tuano
Salesforce Consultant & Founder – Salesforce Professionals Discord Server
5x certified, Salesforce Consultant, Megan, is a well-known vlogger and advocate for everyone seeking a successful Salesforce career. She is the founder of the Salesforce Professionals Discord Server and has her own YouTube channel!
Melissa Hill Dees
Founding Partner – HandsOn Connect Cloud Solutions
If you work in the nonprofit sector then you’ll almost certainly have heard of Melissa, an 8x certified Salesforce MVP. She co-runs Campfire Stories with Stacey, is a Founding Partner at HandsOn Connect, a Nonprofit Community Group Leader, and a Dreamforce speaker. She also serves on the Board of Amplify and FoodBank USA, and is the co-founder of Nonprofit Dreamin and #foodforce.
Summary
How do people come up with lists of people to follow? That’s a question I often ask myself when I see these types of lists. Is it random? Are these people really relevant to me and worth following?
When creating my list of ten women to follow in the Salesforce ecosystem, I can only do it based on my own knowledge and sources of inspiration – that’s why I would love you to comment on this post with all the other amazing women out there who you know deserve recognition!
I’ve included women who have had a personal impact on me and those who are genuinely putting out useful content that I think you’ll enjoy. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have met almost all of the women on this list, either in person or virtually.
I know there are so many more voices out there, so many talented and passionate women in the community that I have yet to meet. I want to hear from you! I want to see you all over social media and the community! So, let me finish by saying that if you have something to say, something to write about, something to celebrate, please share it! You can be confident that there is a HUGE community of women who stand behind you and want to celebrate your success.
