Salesforce Developer Podcast

Katie Villanueva, Senior Salesforce Administrator, is joining us again today! We started our conversation on mental health in the workplace last week and, in this episode, we’ll finish it up. Katie has a long history with mental health and illness. She has grown and learned a lot over the years and she now supports others through a mental health and illness forum. Tune in to learn how to handle mental health in the workplace, how you can help others with mental illnesses and improve your own mental health, and all about the forum Katie created. Show Highlights: Katie’s “CRM” mindset. The stigma around mental health in our society, especially in the tech industry. Why respect for ourselves and others is so crucial. What mindfulness is. How Katie structures her routine to improve her mental health. The origin story of her community forum. Links: Katie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Catptains_Log Katie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-villanueva-36138914a/ Mental Health and Illness Group: https

Katie Villanueva is a Senior Salesforce Administrator. She is also the creator of the Mental Health and Illness forum on Trailblazer. Katie has been on a long journey with mental health and has learned so much along the way. In this episode, Katie and I discuss her mental health history and her various experiences with it. She also shares some things we can do to optimize our mental health. You don’t want to miss this one. Show Highlights: Katie’s history in radio and how she transitioned from that to Salesforce. When she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The long journey that led to her diagnosis. The three types of bipolar disorder. The difference between mental health and mental illness. How Katie manages her anxiety. The experience she had meeting Charlie Isaacs. Links: Katie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Catptains_Log Katie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-villanueva-36138914a/ Mental Health and Illness Group: https://sfdc.co/tb-mental-health-illness

Heather Black is the CEO of Supermums. She started out in social entrepreneurship and made the jump to being a CEO when she was 26. Eventually, this morphed into Supermums, the company she created and now runs. In this episode, Heather and I talk about her long history with social entrepreneurship and what that term means. We also talk all about Supermums and how it runs today. Finally, Heather explains how she has created a healthy work-life balance. Show Highlights: The first business Heather started. What social entrepreneurship is. How Heather got into social entrepreneurship and moved into the role of CEO. What her first year as a CEO was like. Her journey of leaving her first company and founding Supermums. What they do over at Supermums and who it’s directed at helping. Why Heather wanted to start a podcast. All about the book The Unseen Wounds of Women. Why it’s important to be an authentic leader. Links: Supermums on Twitter: https://twitter.com/supermumsglobal Supermums on LinkedIn: https://www.

Ben Sklar is a Senior Product Manager here at Salesforce. Though he started college as a pre-med major, he quickly shifted his interests after taking a Coding 101 course. He went on to pursue Computer Science and even to do research at Vanderbilt University and Hamilton College. Today, Ben and I are talking about GraphQL. GraphQL is a new standard which provides significant performance and organizational benefits to API calls as opposed to REST. Specifically, we’re discussing how Salesforce is implementing it and how you can use it. Join us! Show Highlights: How Ben got into web technology and front-end engineering. How he got introduced to Salesforce and what he does in his current job here. An overview of GraphQL. The key limitation of REST that GraphQL is trying to solve. The two main ways to use GraphQL APIs. How lightning web components fit into all of this. More things on the roadmap for GraphQL. Links: Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-sklar/

Tiago Ruivo is a Senior Regional Success Architect here at Salesforce. He started his career in computer science and was introduced to Salesforce through pure luck as a customer. Eventually, he made the jump over to working for Salesforce and, over time, progressed from being a junior developer to holding his current role. Today, Tiago and I are talking about one of my favorite subjects: static code analysis. Throughout the episode, Diego walks us through how to run it, how to manage it, and how to operate it with your teams. Show Highlights: More about Tiago’s background and career history. How he describes his current role. What static code analysis is and where it falls in the development cycle. What the term “shift left” means. What static code analysis is good at catching and what it’s not good at catching. The tools that make up static code analysis. The first steps to take when you run code analysis. Best practices for making your own set of rules with static code analysis. Where you can learn m

If you tuned into last week’s podcast, you heard from Steph Herrera. She is the co-founder of PepUp Tech and helped launch Salesforce Saturdays. All in all, her efforts have made a major impact in the Salesforce community. Steph is back today for part two of our conversation. Throughout the episode, we talk more about Salesforce Saturdays and how Steph keeps it running with its now 60 chapters. We also discuss a topic that both of us are very passionate about: stress and burnout. Show Highlights: What Merivis is and Steph’s involvement with it. The keynote Steph did at Dreamforce 2017. Her tips for anyone preparing to give a keynote. How mental health came onto her radar. Why stress and burnout can become such a problem for people in the tech community. All about the mental health panel Steph is doing. Links: Steph on Twitter: @steph_herrera_ Steph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph360/

Steph Herrera is the co-founder of PepUp Tech and has a long history in the Salesforce community. After starting out at Dell, Steph developed a passion for computers and eventually coding. From there, she got involved with a variety of projects like Maris. However, what Steph is most famous for is something that has made an indelible impact on our community, Salesforce Saturdays. Tune in to dive into the story behind Salesforce Saturdays, what it looks like today, and much more from Steph. Show Highlights: How Steph ended up in tech. How she got introduced to Salesforce and decided to make it the backbone of her career. Steph’s story of co-founding PepUp Tech. What PepUp Tech is doing right now. Where the idea for Salesforce Saturdays came from. How they keep it structured with 60 chapters running. Links: Steph on Twitter: @steph_herrera_ Steph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph360/

In keeping with our discussion of open-source software, today we will be speaking with Jonathan Gillespie, a software engineer here at Salesforce who is responsible for building the Nebula Logger. Jonathan is a proponent of open-source software for its many benefits, from community sourcing to expert knowledge and transparency. Frustrated with the limitations of proprietary software, Jonathan began experimenting with open-source as a more robust alternative. In my discussion with Jonathan, he fills us in on the reasons he has embraced open-source and why it can be helpful to other developers. He also discusses his current project, Nebula Logger, what led him to begin his work on it, and how it can be used to monitor and report logging data. Show Highlights: What led Jonathan to embrace open-source software The benefits of open-source software The origin story of Jonathan’s work on Nebula Logger How the rise of automation has impacted developers Links: Jonathan on Linkedin - https://linkedin.com/in/jongpi

James Simone is a Lead Software Engineer here at Salesforce. One of his great passions in life is open-source software. That is exactly what we will be talking about today. James was inspired to get into open-source software to help people share code in a more easily indexable, searchable format. This is even what led him to work here at Salesforce. In this episode, James teaches us how we can use open-source software, how to get into it, and some of the projects that he likes. Show Highlights: How James came to work for Salesforce. What extreme programming is and where it came from. Why enterprises should support open-source software. How second-generation packaging affected Salesforce projects. How to navigate licensing and fair use when working with open-source software. All about Nebula Logger and the logging problem it solves. What Apex Rollup is. How to get involved in Nebula Logger and/or Apex Rollup. Links: James on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrwordsmith James on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.co

Kevin Boyle is the CEO of Gearset. Today, I sit down to talk with him all about his journey of building out Gearset and developing it into what it is today. We also discuss DevOps in general throughout our conversation. Kevin’s life trajectory was mostly set from the moment he was first introduced to gaming and coding and was instantly hooked. He went on to do an internship with Microsoft which set his career in stone. Tune in to learn more about his history and what he’s doing now with Gearset. Show Highlights: What Kevin’s experience at Microsoft was like. How he went from that to working with DevOps. How Salesforce’s approach to metadata layers changed his thinking about DevOps. The pitfalls of an org-centric model. Qualities that make for a good DevOps practice. Common misconceptions around DevOps. When Kevin decided to start his own company and why. The importance of surrounding yourself with a great team of people as an entrepreneur. Links: Kevin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevfromireland?lang=en

Drew Tauber is a Salesforce Engineer over at Clear. He is joining us today to discuss somewhat of a hot topic: burnout. Burnout is being talked about more and more in our society and brought to more and more people’s attention. We want to dedicate an entire episode to furthering the conversation on it. Throughout our discussion, Drew and I talk all about stress, burnout, and anxiety. We also discuss how these things can affect us in the workplace. Finally, we chat about what to do if you are experiencing burnout. Show Highlights: How Drew became a coder and got involved with Salesforce. His current role in the Salesforce community. The early signs of burnout. How the early pandemic contributed to Drew’s burnout. How burnout leads to an unhealthy work environment. The steps Drew took to recover from burnout. How he prioritized socializing and exercising in his recovery. What he does now to prevent burnout. Communication boundaries he’s implemented. Why he decided to start doing presentations on burnout an

Nico Pouilloux is a principal ISV technical evangelist here at Salesforce. He has worked for a variety of companies throughout his career but eventually came to realize that he wanted to work for a B2B software company. This brought him to Salesforce. In this episode, Nico and I discuss his work as an ISV technical evangelist. We also get into his advice for ISVs and the Business Builders program he has helped develop. Join us! Show Highlights: What Nico’s current role looks like. How he keeps up with all the latest developments. How he helps founders of new businesses get on the market. The evaluation process he goes through when founders bring in their ideas. A simple explanation of the Business Builders program. The communal features of Business Builders. Links: Nico on Twitter: https://twitter.com/npouillouxsf Nico on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/npouilloux/ Nico on Github: https://github.com/nicopollux

Daniel Peter is the Salesforce Practice Lead over at Robots & Pencils. Having had some incredible experiences throughout his life (including starting as a self-taught programmer, studying marketing in college, and taking some time mid-career to go on “sabbatical” and travel), Daniel brings a unique perspective to our show. In today’s conversation, Daniel and I talk all about his time in the Salesforce ecosystem and what his current job looks like. We also get into the weeds a bit with the Slack and Salesforce integration. Tune in to hear all of this and more. Show Highlights: Daniel’s history with computers. Why he decided to get a business degree and how it has benefited him. How he describes his current job. Why the designer role is so important. The benefits of Block Kit. How Slack can be used for more than communication. How the Slack and Salesforce integration can bring back some of the magic for developers. Daniel’s developer story with Slack. Slack integrations he has worked on and their use cas

Paul McCollum is a Salesforce Technical Architect over at Accenture. Though he pursued various interests in college, he eventually came to pursue a degree in Computer Science. From there, he began his first job as a Unix programmer and then found his way into architecture. In this episode, we talk about just that: all things architecture. Paul shares some cool concepts with us regarding application design, UX, and big-picture architecture as well as what’s coming up for architecture in the future. Tune in to hear it all. Show Highlights: Paul’s long history with computers and architecture. How he discovered Salesforce. Why the overlap between user interface and big-picture architecture is important. The level of planning and documentation an application owner can do without a designer. The rising importance of technical designers. Architecture blind spots Paul sees on the horizon. A hack that allows flow to work with infinite records. How Paul started getting involved in the Salesforce community and his

Cal Smith is a Senior Technical Architect and Associate Director for Cognizant. Cal has a long history with computers. He got his start in engineering school and has since done everything from animation to writing assistive software for the visually impaired. We discuss all of this (and more of Cal’s background) in our conversation today. Throughout this episode, Cal also gives us a great overview of Health Cloud. We talk about its development and one of the unsung heroes of the platform: Omniscript. Tune in to hear all of this and more. Show Highlights: How Cal got involved with Salesforce and creating communities. How he got started with Health Cloud. A typical use case for Health Cloud. What a validated machine means. How deletion of records is prevented within Health Cloud. What Omniscript is all about and what it does. Cal’s work and involvement with Dallas GiftForce. Links: Cal on Twitter: http://twttiter.com/CloudMech Cal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/Cloud-Mech/ Cal on Github: http

Last week we began a two-part interview with Joe Stern, a consultant and program manager here at Salesforce. Joe is passionate about advocating for those with neurodiversity and has made it his goal to increase conversations about mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. We started our conversation last week learning about Joe’s journey after being diagnosed with ADHD at a young age and some of the challenges that have followed from this diagnosis. Now, he coordinates support for mental health in the workplace to help others process similar obstacles more effectively. In the second half of our interview, we’ll discuss some of the outlets that Joe has found helpful when taking care of his own mental health. From activities like networking on Animal Crossing, to creating Mental Health Matters resource groups at work, to finding a passion for roasting coffee, Joe has discovered that sometimes the simplest form of therapy is finding something that brings you joy and leaning into it. Show Highlights: Fi

Joe Stern is a consultant and program manager here at Salesforce. Though he has many interests—outdoor camping and shoe drops to start—Joe’s passion lies in being an advocate for those with neurodiversity. As someone diagnosed with ADHD at an early age, Joe has grown to appreciate the importance of addressing the impact that mental health can have on one’s ability to function successfully both in and out of the workplace. Now, he coordinates support for mental health in the workplace for others. In the first part of this two-part episode, we begin our discussion with Joe about his path to becoming a developer and how neurodiversity has affected the trajectory of his life. We also discuss some of the trials he’s faced in the workforce and how getting therapeutic support for his mental health has positively impacted both his performance at work as well as his other various hobbies and responsibilities. Show Highlights: How to define neurodiversity Where to find a community and resources for those that i

Meighan Brodkey is a Director of Technical Architecture at Vorys. With a background in language and religious studies, she had a fairly smooth transition over to coding. She saw it as the technical version of translating numbers and letters. Today, she not only works in technical architecture but is also heavily involved in the Salesforce community. She works a lot with other women in tech and within the Ohana Slack workspace. She is joining us on the show today to talk about all of these things, Slack integrations, and what she does in her current role. Show Highlights: Meighan’s college journey and first coding experiences. How she got involved with Salesforce and became an architect. Her passion for connecting people. The various communities she is involved with. What got her into Slack and the work she’s done with Slack integrations. The basic structure of Slack apps. What the block kit builder is. A quick overview of GDPR. Links: Meighan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/meighansf Meighan on Link

If you joined us last week, you met Ian Varley. Ian is a Principal Architect here at Salesforce who has extensive experience with Salesforce CRM and multi-tenant architecture. He also comes from a musical background which has helped him develop his coding skills. Last week, you heard part one of our conversation on Salesforce architecture. We split our discussion up so you could listen to it in full. Today in part two we talk all about metadata and why it is so important. We also get into one of Ian’s favorite topics - cognitive bias in technology. Tune in to finish the extended version of my discussion with Ian Varley. Show Highlights: The value of deeper semantic integrations of data. How meta-databases physically work. How unique IDs are generated. What an instance is. Why some IDs are 15 characters and some are 18. Why awareness of cognitive bias is important. The software Salesforce created to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Links: Ian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefutureian Ian on LinkedI