How It All Started
I had the opportunity last month to talk to members of RAD and WIT. After discussing the tremendous growth of both groups and the involvement of so many wonderful volunteers on both sides, I really wanted to dig into a Part 2 in this series to highlight the amazing women behind the scenes. These volunteers have kept these initiatives growing in depth and expanding in members each year! The momentum of these groups has been phenomenal and has inspired many of us to stay motivated and keep working toward our Salesforce goals.
You can find both of these group on the Salesforce Success Community, as well as dozens of other groups focused on specific products, industries and regions!
If you are not already following these women, take a moment to follow them on Twitter!
Kieren Jameson: @KierenJameson
Melissa Prcic: @MelissaPrcic
Kyla Longe: @seriouslykyla
Maria Belli: @JustAGirlyGeek
Kieren Jameson details her experience with RAD and provides insight as to the history and goals for the group.
"RAD was founded by five women who were committed to providing developer education for women.
Angela Mahoney, Ashima Saigal, Sasipriya Jayamaruthyraman, Lou Ann Lyon, and me. We created a pilot program that we conducted with 22 women learners and 6 coaches to test our custom built curriculum, using our own original materials, various WomenCodeHeroes.com blog posts supplemented with various Trailhead modules. We have since revised the curriculum and have 25 new beginning learners from across North and South America. We currently have a beginner’s course, but will soon start working on an intermediate course and an aim on developing an advanced curriculum that would involve having participants work on feature requests for the Open Source Non-Profit Starter Pack." ~Kieren
Melissa Prcic shares her philosophy on the RAD program and how she is shaping the curriculum for the 2nd round of students this winter.
"When I heard about the RAD program last year I was thrilled to become involved as a coach for the first
round of classes. I saw immediately that it was filling a real gap that exists for women who are experienced with the platform and want to take the leap into coding on the platform, but don’t know exactly where to start. I made the transition from advanced admin to developer several years ago and I was lucky enough to have incredibly supportive and experienced co-workers as well as an employer that was happy to have me grow into a developer role. I combined on-the-job learning with a significant time investment outside of work utilizing the very good Massive Open Online Courses that are available (shout-out for Harvard’s CS50X!) and lots of independent study.
The bottom line is that I want everyone who has the aptitude and the commitment to have access to the kind of coaching and support that I did. Women are so underrepresented in our field and it’s not for lack of talent.
I had a great time coaching and I was happy to join the steering committee for the second round where I took the lead on updating the curriculum based on feedback from learners and coaches as well as my own experience. Overall it’s been such a learning experience for me and I’m incredibly grateful to have a chance to “pay-it-forward” and provide support for women who are embarking on a career path that is profoundly rewarding on both a personal and professional level." ~Melissa
"The primary goal of RAD Women is to provide a supportive and collaborative environment for women Salesforce developers to help women Salesforce admins build upon their existing click-based administration skills and learn to program on the Force.com platform." ~Kieren
I have heard some great buzz around the summer session of RAD. Make sure that if you are interested, you join the Success Community group to be added to the lottery pool of candidates ASAP!
Unless you've never been to Dreamforce and have never signed into Success Community, you cannot say that you have never heard of WIT (formerly Girly Geeks). I believe the WIT group has had the most growth within the last year over any other type of Salesforce group. In my mind, these groups are synonymous with the efforts of Kyla Longe and Maria Belli.
"The power of women helping women is a well-documented phenomenon, from getting out of poverty to staying safe in dangerous times. In our Women In Tech space, we promote each other, encourage & educate, and quite often just chat about the rest of life.
When chatting with a colleague, Stephanie Herrera, at a local World Tour event, she mentioned how great it would be if we had something like the WIT/Girly Geek Dreamforce pre-conference event locally. Immediately, I knew that local chapters, like User Groups, could be a valuable addition to the community at-large, not just in Austin, Texas. Afterwards, on my way home, I left a message for Geraldine Grey to see if she’d be receptive to Girly Geek chapters. A couple months later the Chapters concept was announced at Dreamforce and just weeks after that, Austin held the very first local chapter meeting." ~Kyla
"In December of 2010, I headed out to my first Dreamforce, all alone, nervous, excited, and not really knowing what to expect. This introvert wanted to be semi prepared before heading out to the big city for an event with an estimated 45k+ people in attendance. So in the weeks leading up to the event, I periodically read through posts in the Dreamforce community and met some other women who were staying at the same hotel. We quickly became friends (and still are to this date!). We noticed a post by Geraldine Gray inviting women to gather at a wine bar for a ‘Girly Geeks Happy Hour’ and decided we should go. We met some amazing people, had lots of laughs and, of course, some wine. The rest is history." ~Maria
How have you seen the WIT program evolve?
"In terms of size, we’ve more than doubled last year in number of chapters, had several international chapters introduced, had chapter groups grow in number memberships, as well as the WIT success group grow in tandem. We’ve had diversity & inclusion as an area that has also gotten some traction, from a new WIT Diversity Group that meets monthly to a small committee that will soon start to redraft the mission statement to include those who identify as women that Salesforce as well as WIT ambassadors/advocates who are men that Salesforce.
Let’s not forget that though Girly Geeks started as a Dreamforce Happy Hour coordinated by the incomparable Geraldine Grey, that grew to an annual Dreamforce Pre-Conference event. Then, the growth was underscored each time our band of home-grown local chapter groups are officially recognized by Salesforce. First, via an announcement at the annual Pre-Conference event at Dreamforce 2013 & again in 2014 and then the next year in January 2015 when the Salesforce Community announced Chapters as official User Groups.
Size, breadth, savvy, visibility are all part of the continuing evolution of this group supporting this fantastic set of women." ~Kyla
"I have seen the group go from the first gathering of around 20 or so women at Dreamforce to the massive, must go to events you see at Dreamforce today. Also, over the last few years, Women In Tech User Groups have formed across the globe and are run by our amazing community members. Lastly, the members of WIT never miss out on a chance to meet up at local events, such as Salesforce World Tours, when the opportunity arises." ~Maria
What would you say to someone thinking about joining WIT?
"Do it, don’t put it off, throw yourself in to learn more yourself, help others get value, and strengthen this already strong network. All the time, I hear (or read in Twitter or the Success Community), 'You don’t know how you’ve helped me,' or 'Without this chapter, I wouldn’t have this great job I love today!' And even if it’s a place to find a shoulder to lean on, quite often it turns into excitement for having found a welcoming, safe group, where you don’t have to have all the answers, wear a smiley face, and be 'all the things'."~Kyla
"Just do it! Join your local WIT User Group. If one doesn’t exist, find a partner in crime and start one! You won’t regret it. Oh, and don’t forget to check out the Women In Tech Success Community group." ~Maria
When you started out, did you think the program would grow as it has?
"Once we hit on the idea of Chapters, I knew there would be several places it would take off…but number of groups or leaders or other possibly impressive statistics aside, I’m still blown away by the women stepping into leadership, the ideas coming forth from leaders AND members innovating, and the hunger from the workplace and our Community for Women to step into these roles. I’m not sure I’ll stop being surprised and amazed by this group!" ~Kyla
"No, but I’m not surprised by its growth. Our community is extremely supportive and helpful so it was only a matter of time before it grew and I envision it growing even more as time goes on." ~Maria
How would you describe the value of WIT?
"I go back to where I started…the phenomenon of women helping women is real…be it internationally, across your sector, in your community; or providing a suggestion, asking a question, or offering a meeting idea; and sometimes its sharing a glass of wine, providing a career, offering 6-figure negotiation tips, or talking shoes or lactation or benefits, Communities (with a Capital C) are stronger for the women involved in every level of their governance, growth and giving." ~Kyla
"It’s priceless. I’ve learned so much from the members of our WIT community. I’ve been able to reach out to various women and everyone is always able and willing to help out. I’ve never seen anything like it. I am truly blessed to be part of such an amazing group and initiative. " ~Maria
I am so blown away by the continued efforts of these women. Each program is really working toward filling a gap in our career space. Always welcoming and looking for ways to encourage and promote other women, it is truly wonderful to see how these programs continue to grow and to take a moment to recognize and thank each of these women for their hard work. THANK YOU!
