At a young age, Melissa Shepard excelled in mathematics and had a passion for computer games. Despite being one of the few females in her Computer Science major and a single mother of two, Melissa didn’t let that stop her from excelling. Balancing parenting with her studies, Melissa graduated magna cum laude, served as VP of a national mathematics honor society, and later furthered her education by getting an MBA in information systems.
In 2006, Melissa was introduced to Salesforce when she began a role that required her to customize her organization’s existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and build partner and customer portals that integrated with Salesforce. This introduction changed the entire trajectory of her career and her life. She learned Salesforce Administrator skills, customizing the company’s instance for stakeholders. She then eventually transitioned into an architect role where she designed the tools needed to solve the company’s integration issues.
Utilizing Salesforce isn’t just about focusing on the technology, but understanding what the problem is that you’re trying to solve first. Then, you can decide how you’re going to solve that problem with Salesforce.
Melissa ShepardFounder, ScaleUp Archs
Melissa found a new passion in Salesforce and fully immersed herself in it. She established her own consulting firm and became a certified Salesforce Partner. She started attending Salesforce events, where she networked with fellow tech professionals and later discovered the Trailblazer Community, where she was inspired to help other women by starting a Women in Tech Group in New Hampshire.
Melissa’s enthusiasm led her to pursue becoming a Salesforce Certified Technical Architect (CTA). After failing her first CTA review board attempt, Melissa created a Slack-based CTA study group that found success in the community. Trailblazers from everywhere found a space to connect, share best practices, and get advice, all in Slack. With the support of the group, Melissa passed her review board and became a CTA. Her desire to help others succeed prompted her to broaden the Slack community group to include study groups for CTA and other Architect certifications, making it more inclusive for all current and aspiring Salesforce Architects. Through this community, Melissa continues to share advice and guidance.
Today, Melissa has 37 Salesforce certifications, continues to lead her consulting firm, and is also the founder of ScaleUp Archs, a nonprofit dedicated to helping underrepresented groups become Salesforce Architects. She remains actively involved in multiple Architect community groups as a way to give back. With the recent launch of Data Cloud, Melissa has discovered a strong interest in helping companies drive their own digital transformations using this technology. She believes Data Cloud is critical to receiving high-quality, AI-driven output, and she’s excited to make the connection on how to use it as a foundation for AI moving forward. She’s currently consulting with a company to bring its data together in one place to enhance its CRM analytics.
Melissa’s journey exemplifies not only her passion for Salesforce and data management, but also her commitment to empowering others and driving meaningful digital transformations.