The worlds of Salesforce Admins and Developers intertwine closely, but working with Salesforce Developers can be challenging for declarative Admins. Join us to learn how three Salesforce Women In Technology (WIT) experts bridged this gap and leveled up their careers to become an Admineloper, Developer, and Technical Architect. You’ll walk away with best practices for communicating with developers, as well as the direction you’ll need to dramatically expand your career opportunities.

1. Decoding Developers –
Level Up Your Admin Career
An Admin, Admineloper and Architect’s Journeys
Ashley Allen, CEO & Salesforce Architect Meighan Brodkey, Technical Architect
@anerrdgirrl @meighanSF
Jean Velonis, Product Development
@jeanvelonis

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Forward-Looking Statement

3. Meighan Brodkey
The Three Amigas
Ashley Allen
ADMINELOPER
Product Development | MVP
She/Her
Jean Velonis
ADMIN
CEO & Salesforce Architect
They/Them – She/Her
DEVELOPER
Technical Architect | MVP
She/Her

4. Our Journeys
Fireside Stories
Path To Leveling Up
Resources
Where Are We Going?
Agenda

5. 2011
Graduated with
Bachelors Math. &
First Salesforce
Job, writing test
code
2013
Started SF
Admin
Freelancing,
working 1099
2014
In house
Admin
2016
Came out
of the
closet &
Divorce
2017
Founded
ITequality!
Founder of Itequality | Salesforce Consulting Partner
Orange County Nonprofit User Group Leader
7x Certifications
Ashley’s Journey

6. 2006 – 08
Single Parent
Graduated UofP
Marketing Career
2009
Remarried
Admin Training
Reporting Wizard
2011
Admin Cert
800 User Org
2015
WIT UG
Leader
Trailhead
2016-18
MOAR Certs
2000
Had a Baby
First Real Job
2013-16
Adv Admin Cert
Manage Org
Had a 2nd Baby
5X Certified Admineloper | Salesforce MVP |
WITness Success | Phoenix WIT User Group Leader
Jean’s Journey

7. 2008
CSM @
salesforce.com
2009
First Admin
Job
2012
Started Coding
at Work
2015
Leader of
Seattle WIT
UG
2016
Architect
2005
Graduated College,
Hebrew Studies
Salesforce MVP | Technical Architect |
Seattle WIT User Group Leader
Meighan’s Journey

8. Watch Your Language and
Use Your Eyes
Slowing down Mad Max

9. Know your Audience
“I don’t understand”
Body language & facial expressions
FYI: The blank stare means you lost them
One way to lose them
Watch Your Language and Use Your Eyes

10. How to be A Powerful Admin
Admin Allyship

11. Ask around before you refresh a sandbox!
Be aware when your work might break test code:
• Changing record type names
• New validation rules
• Deactivating or changing a workflow rule/process
builder.
• Deactivating a user.
Better together!
How to be a Developer Ally as an Admin

12. Let’s Get RAD
RAD Women Who Code

13. What RAD Taught Me
Don’t Over Complicate
Point & Click, Then Code
Ask Questions
Shift in mindset

14. Individual Contributor
Starting your own path

15. Individual Contributor
Things I didn’t enjoy about being a Developer:
• Compile errors, repetitiveness, isolation, mundane requests. Lack of
appreciation. Requires more patience than I have.
I really LOVE being an Admin because:
• Teaching people new things, “oh I get it!” Lots of appreciation. Faster
build time- greater visual results in less time.
Non-Developer Admin Career Paths:
• Specialist; service, sales, community. Director, business analyst,
Consultant, principle consultant. Company founder.
Sometime backward is forwards

16. Coding Standards for
Declarative
Start thinking like a developer

17. Coding Standards for Declarative
ONE Process Per Object
Exception Checks in Flows
Guidelines for when to click & when to code
Just because it’s declarative, doesn’t mean you can do whatever

18. Hello World!
Sometimes You Fail Forward

19. Find a Mentor
Buttons, Queries and Scheduled Jobs…
Oh My!
Debug What?
My First Code

20. There’s No One Path
Level Up!
RAD

21. “You either walk inside your story
and own it or you stand outside your
story and hustle for your worthiness.”
”
Brene Brown
https://brenebrown.com/

22. Resources
Get Involved
RAD Women
All women who learn coding are
heroes! The tech industry is
extremely skewed towards men.
Women make up 57% of the US
workforce, but are drastically
underrepresented in info tech.
Stats vary, but we make up
between 10-23% of
programmers, and much smaller
numbers for women of color.
Salesforce User Group
Join or start Trailblazer
Community Groups to connect,
learn and have fun with
Trailblazers like you at regular
meetings. Meet peers who live in
your city, work in similar roles and
industries, and share your special
interests.
Getting started is simple -- just
find the groups that interest you
and login to sign up for the next
meeting.
Ohana Slack
Meet others in the Ohana, join
channels about different features
where you can talk about different
functionality tips and tricks. Get
real time help with question about
the platform from other admins,
devs, and architects. Plus make
new friends from all over.

23. Get Involved
Trailhead Resources
Projects
Build a suggestion Box App
Quick Start: Apex Coding for
Admins
Quick Start: Apex
Modules
Formulas & Validations
Apex Basics & Database
Platform Development
Basics
Apex Testing
Custom Metadata Types
Transform SQL Queries to
SOQL Queries in a Lightning
App
Trailmix
Build Your Developer Career on
Salesforce
Prepare for Your Salesforce
Platform Developer I Credential
Super Badge
Process Automation Specialist
Lightning Experience Rollout
Specialist