https://simplecast.com Humans of Salesforce: Who We Are From day one, Salesforce has believed business is a platform for change. We are the builders, the changemakers, and the AI-native learners rewriting the status quo. Joy is our North Star, and our values are our guide. Our 80,000+ 'Ohana members are our ultimate competitive advantage, and this show is about the ones you haven't met—yet. These are the humans of Salesforce... and this is who we are. 2026 Salesforce en Thu, 1 Oct 2026 17:47:47 +0000 Fri, 2 Oct 2026 16:13:22 +0000 https://humans-of-salesforce-who-we-are.simplecast.com Humans of Salesforce: Who We Are https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/9af9fba1-837c-4059-ab78-af95721786d7/63a589b5-d419-4732-b5fc-1df75eb26125/3000x3000/humansofsalesforce_podcast_coverart_final.jpg?aid=rss_feed https://humans-of-salesforce-who-we-are.simplecast.com episodic From day one, Salesforce has believed business is a platform for change. We are the builders, the changemakers, and the AI-native learners rewriting the status quo. Joy is our North Star, and our values are our guide. Our 80,000+ 'Ohana members are our ultimate competitive advantage, and this show is about the ones you haven't met—yet. These are the humans of Salesforce... and this is who we are. Salesforce false https://feeds.simplecast.com/HJ10ZlhG b2b, data, salesforce, saas, technology Salesforce meredith@caspianstudios.com 0bd40211-fff9-45f7-93eb-a9141224e600 Adopt-A-School: Ron Smith on How Salesforce Shows Up for Its Communities Molly Q. Ford sits down with Ron Smith, VP of Philanthropy at Salesforce, for an episode that starts in the principal’s office - literally, since that’s where Ron spent a big part of his career. He was a teacher, then a principal, then ran school transformation across networks in Oakland before joining Salesforce nine years ago to do the same work at a national and global scale. His framing is simple: schools are the beacon of every community, and what they need most isn’t only money, books, or curriculum. It’s people walking through the door and giving their talent.
 

That’s the case for Adopt-A-School. Every Salesforce employee has VTO written into their contract, and Ron’s pitch is to spend it at a school: tutoring, classroom cleanup, or just asking a principal what would help. He and Molly get into why middle school is the grade band everyone skips (elementary gets the early-literacy resources, high school gets the college-and-career push, and sixth through eighth gets left to figure itself out), what Salesforce brings when it shows up, and the Principal Innovation Fund - the program Marc Benioff and former San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee started more than 13 years ago that hands middle school principals $100,000 to spend at their own discretion, no strings attached. When Salesforce surveys principals about what’s most useful in the partnership, the fund comes back number one every time.
 

Ron and Molly also get into how AI is reshaping what educators and students need, why doing nothing is worse than trying, Ron’s advice for anyone nervous about volunteering (go with four or five people, and log your hours), the values speaking to him right now, and why he shows up every day.

Quotes

“Schools are really the beacon of all communities. Everything surrounds schools: churches, food, business, industries. But at the heart of it, they need so much more help. It’s not just money, it’s not just books, it’s not just curriculum. It’s really getting people to go to schools and give their talents.” — Ron

“Everyone really wants to get early literacy, so elementary has had a lot of resources and families are super involved. Think about high school - everyone’s getting ready for college and career. But middle school, that sixth to eighth grade, is really challenging, and it is forgotten many times.” — Ron

“What if you gave each leader $100,000 to use any way you want, at your school site, your discretion, no strings attached? We’ve been doing this for over 13 years across San Francisco and Oakland. When we survey principals and ask what’s the number one thing they see useful in their partnership with Salesforce, the Principal Innovation Fund is always number one.” — Ron

“We actually don’t know all the jobs that are gonna be AI-ready in the future. We know that they’re coming, but we’re not sure. So how do you give young people the skills to address any career opportunity? It really gives them choice, and that’s all we’re trying to do.” — Ron

“We have to get away from the system where we’re gonna go in and tell you what to do. We have to begin the system where we’re gonna ask you what you need. Once you do that, the partnership will strive and thrive to be stronger.” — Ron

“There are young people who see this amazing, biggest tower just looking out their window and have never even stepped through the door. So how do we change that paradigm and ensure that young people have access?” — Ron

Time Stamps

[01:13] Welcome to Humans of Salesforce; Meet Ron Smith

[01:42] Ron Outside the Job: Teacher, Principal, and a Life in Education

[02:03] Coming to Salesforce in 2015–2016 to Make Change at a National and Global Scale

[02:34] What Adopt-A-School Is: Schools as the Beacon of Every Community

[02:56] VTO Is in Every Contract: Tutoring, Cleanup, Whatever the School Needs

[03:45] Why Middle School Is the Grade Band Everyone Skips Over

[04:46] What Salesforce Brings: Intervention, Math, AI Skills, PD, and Mentoring

[05:23] The Goal: The Number One Support System for Middle Schools, Locally and Globally

[05:32] AI in Schools: Doing Nothing Is Worse Than Trying

[06:14] Students Are Already Ahead of Us. So How Do You Change the Adults' Mindset?

[06:47] Building the Circle of Support: Teachers, Young People, and Families

[07:04] Skills for Jobs That Don't Exist Yet - and Why It Comes Down to Choice

[07:36] The Principal Innovation Fund: How Marc Benioff and Mayor Ed Lee Started It

[08:42] Why Principals Rank the Fund Number One Every Time

[12:48] The Library They Built - and Why Libraries Get Forgotten

[13:23] New Shoes and Clean Walls: How a Beautiful Campus Sets the Mental Frame

[15:41] How to Get Involved: Site Councils, Employee Impact, and Just Asking

[17:15] Leaders Adopting Schools, and Building VTO Into Your Offsite

[18:20] Where to Find It: Benevity on Okta, Basecamp, and Slackbot

Links

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]]> Thu, 1 Oct 2026 17:47:47 +0000 meredith@caspianstudios.com (Ron Smith, Molly Q. Ford) https://humans-of-salesforce-who-we-are.simplecast.com/episodes/adopt-a-school-ron-smith-on-how-salesforce-shows-up-for-its-communities-zqrfkQAR Molly Q. Ford sits down with Ron Smith, VP of Philanthropy at Salesforce, for an episode that starts in the principal’s office - literally, since that’s where Ron spent a big part of his career. He was a teacher, then a principal, then ran school transformation across networks in Oakland before joining Salesforce nine years ago to do the same work at a national and global scale. His framing is simple: schools are the beacon of every community, and what they need most isn’t only money, books, or curriculum. It’s people walking through the door and giving their talent.
 

That’s the case for Adopt-A-School. Every Salesforce employee has VTO written into their contract, and Ron’s pitch is to spend it at a school: tutoring, classroom cleanup, or just asking a principal what would help. He and Molly get into why middle school is the grade band everyone skips (elementary gets the early-literacy resources, high school gets the college-and-career push, and sixth through eighth gets left to figure itself out), what Salesforce brings when it shows up, and the Principal Innovation Fund - the program Marc Benioff and former San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee started more than 13 years ago that hands middle school principals $100,000 to spend at their own discretion, no strings attached. When Salesforce surveys principals about what’s most useful in the partnership, the fund comes back number one every time.
 

Ron and Molly also get into how AI is reshaping what educators and students need, why doing nothing is worse than trying, Ron’s advice for anyone nervous about volunteering (go with four or five people, and log your hours), the values speaking to him right now, and why he shows up every day.

Quotes

“Schools are really the beacon of all communities. Everything surrounds schools: churches, food, business, industries. But at the heart of it, they need so much more help. It’s not just money, it’s not just books, it’s not just curriculum. It’s really getting people to go to schools and give their talents.” — Ron

“Everyone really wants to get early literacy, so elementary has had a lot of resources and families are super involved. Think about high school - everyone’s getting ready for college and career. But middle school, that sixth to eighth grade, is really challenging, and it is forgotten many times.” — Ron

“What if you gave each leader $100,000 to use any way you want, at your school site, your discretion, no strings attached? We’ve been doing this for over 13 years across San Francisco and Oakland. When we survey principals and ask what’s the number one thing they see useful in their partnership with Salesforce, the Principal Innovation Fund is always number one.” — Ron

“We actually don’t know all the jobs that are gonna be AI-ready in the future. We know that they’re coming, but we’re not sure. So how do you give young people the skills to address any career opportunity? It really gives them choice, and that’s all we’re trying to do.” — Ron

“We have to get away from the system where we’re gonna go in and tell you what to do. We have to begin the system where we’re gonna ask you what you need. Once you do that, the partnership will strive and thrive to be stronger.” — Ron

“There are young people who see this amazing, biggest tower just looking out their window and have never even stepped through the door. So how do we change that paradigm and ensure that young people have access?” — Ron

Time Stamps

[01:13] Welcome to Humans of Salesforce; Meet Ron Smith

[01:42] Ron Outside the Job: Teacher, Principal, and a Life in Education

[02:03] Coming to Salesforce in 2015–2016 to Make Change at a National and Global Scale

[02:34] What Adopt-A-School Is: Schools as the Beacon of Every Community

[02:56] VTO Is in Every Contract: Tutoring, Cleanup, Whatever the School Needs

[03:45] Why Middle School Is the Grade Band Everyone Skips Over

[04:46] What Salesforce Brings: Intervention, Math, AI Skills, PD, and Mentoring

[05:23] The Goal: The Number One Support System for Middle Schools, Locally and Globally

[05:32] AI in Schools: Doing Nothing Is Worse Than Trying

[06:14] Students Are Already Ahead of Us. So How Do You Change the Adults' Mindset?

[06:47] Building the Circle of Support: Teachers, Young People, and Families

[07:04] Skills for Jobs That Don't Exist Yet - and Why It Comes Down to Choice

[07:36] The Principal Innovation Fund: How Marc Benioff and Mayor Ed Lee Started It

[08:42] Why Principals Rank the Fund Number One Every Time

[12:48] The Library They Built - and Why Libraries Get Forgotten

[13:23] New Shoes and Clean Walls: How a Beautiful Campus Sets the Mental Frame

[15:41] How to Get Involved: Site Councils, Employee Impact, and Just Asking

[17:15] Leaders Adopting Schools, and Building VTO Into Your Offsite

[18:20] Where to Find It: Benevity on Okta, Basecamp, and Slackbot

Links

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]]> Adopt-A-School: Ron Smith on How Salesforce Shows Up for Its Communities Ron Smith, Molly Q. Ford 00:23:29 Molly Q. Ford sits down with Ron Smith, VP of Philanthropy at Salesforce to talk about Adopt-a-School and why Salesforce employees should spend their VTO at a school, tutoring, doing classroom cleanup, or just asking a principal what would help. Ron and Molly also get into how AI is reshaping what educators and students need, why doing nothing is worse than trying, Ron’s advice for anyone nervous about volunteering (go with four or five people, and log your hours), the values speaking to him right now, and why he shows up every day. Molly Q. Ford sits down with Ron Smith, VP of Philanthropy at Salesforce to talk about Adopt-a-School and why Salesforce employees should spend their VTO at a school, tutoring, doing classroom cleanup, or just asking a principal what would help. Ron and Molly also get into how AI is reshaping what educators and students need, why doing nothing is worse than trying, Ron’s advice for anyone nervous about volunteering (go with four or five people, and log your hours), the values speaking to him right now, and why he shows up every day. sales, technology, b2b, saas, salesforce, tech false full 6 df29decd-0e32-4306-b2cb-01ba1103f3ab Raising a Trailblazer: Claire and Alison Rowley on Salesforce Adventure Club and AI For this special episode of Humans of Salesforce, Claire Rowley, who leads employee engagement at Salesforce and recently marked her fourth anniversary with the company, hands the mic to a guest who has known her a lot longer than that: her 11-year-old daughter, Alison. Recorded in the Dublin tower, it’s a conversation about Salesforce Adventure Club, the annual event Claire’s team dreams up and Alison has been attending for years, told from the only perspective that really counts: a kid’s.

Alison walks through her earliest Adventure Club memory, this year’s AI, Adventure, and Fluency theme, and her graduation from craft-table attendee to craft-table helper, building spaceships and rockets with the younger kids. She shares what she took away from the Adventure Club AI class, gives Slackbot a live try with a question about shopping in Rome, pitches her dream activity for next year, and offers first-timers some straightforward advice about showing up at the office. 

Quotes
“AI is safe, but you need to be environmentally friendly as well. And it’s very helpful.” — Alison

“I think your superpower is that you try new things. Not many kids would be at the top of the Salesforce tower doing an interview in a big company.” — Claire

“Adventure Club is my favorite because it’s a great fun day out.” — Alison

Time Stamps

[01:23] Meet Alison Rowley, Age 11, Junior Trailblazer

[02:16] Alison's First Adventure Club Memory

[02:40] This Year's Theme: AI, Adventure, and Fluency

[02:46] The Best Non-Technical Part: Sweets, Arts and Crafts, and Bracelets

[03:00] Running the Craft Station: Spaceships and Rockets With the Little Kids

[03:27] What Does AI Mean to an 11-Year-Old?

[03:37] What She Learned in the Adventure Club AI Class

[03:53] Alison's Dream Adventure Club Activity: A Book Character Photo Booth

[04:10] Trying Slackbot Live - and the Prompting Tip She Learned in Class

[05:16] What's Your Superpower?

[05:40] Advice for First-Timers at Adventure Club

[05:50] Should Kids Be Nervous About Coming Into the Office? "Not at All."

[06:10] "Adventure Club Is My Favorite Because…"

Links

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]]> Thu, 17 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000 meredith@caspianstudios.com (Alison Rowley, Claire Rowley, Molly Q. Ford) https://humans-of-salesforce-who-we-are.simplecast.com/episodes/raising-a-trailblazer-claire-and-alison-rowley-on-salesforce-adventure-club-and-ai-W5Aytpii For this special episode of Humans of Salesforce, Claire Rowley, who leads employee engagement at Salesforce and recently marked her fourth anniversary with the company, hands the mic to a guest who has known her a lot longer than that: her 11-year-old daughter, Alison. Recorded in the Dublin tower, it’s a conversation about Salesforce Adventure Club, the annual event Claire’s team dreams up and Alison has been attending for years, told from the only perspective that really counts: a kid’s.

Alison walks through her earliest Adventure Club memory, this year’s AI, Adventure, and Fluency theme, and her graduation from craft-table attendee to craft-table helper, building spaceships and rockets with the younger kids. She shares what she took away from the Adventure Club AI class, gives Slackbot a live try with a question about shopping in Rome, pitches her dream activity for next year, and offers first-timers some straightforward advice about showing up at the office. 

Quotes
“AI is safe, but you need to be environmentally friendly as well. And it’s very helpful.” — Alison

“I think your superpower is that you try new things. Not many kids would be at the top of the Salesforce tower doing an interview in a big company.” — Claire

“Adventure Club is my favorite because it’s a great fun day out.” — Alison

Time Stamps

[01:23] Meet Alison Rowley, Age 11, Junior Trailblazer

[02:16] Alison's First Adventure Club Memory

[02:40] This Year's Theme: AI, Adventure, and Fluency

[02:46] The Best Non-Technical Part: Sweets, Arts and Crafts, and Bracelets

[03:00] Running the Craft Station: Spaceships and Rockets With the Little Kids

[03:27] What Does AI Mean to an 11-Year-Old?

[03:37] What She Learned in the Adventure Club AI Class

[03:53] Alison's Dream Adventure Club Activity: A Book Character Photo Booth

[04:10] Trying Slackbot Live - and the Prompting Tip She Learned in Class

[05:16] What's Your Superpower?

[05:40] Advice for First-Timers at Adventure Club

[05:50] Should Kids Be Nervous About Coming Into the Office? "Not at All."

[06:10] "Adventure Club Is My Favorite Because…"

Links

Connect with the host on LinkedIn!

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]]> Raising a Trailblazer: Claire and Alison Rowley on Salesforce Adventure Club and AI Alison Rowley, Claire Rowley, Molly Q. Ford 00:06:52 For this special episode of Humans of Salesforce, Claire Rowley, who leads employee engagement at Salesforce and recently marked her fourth anniversary with the company, hands the mic to a guest who has known her a lot longer than that: her 11-year-old daughter, Alison. Recorded in the Dublin tower, it’s a conversation about Salesforce Adventure Club, the annual event Claire’s team dreams up and Alison has been attending for years, told from the only perspective that really counts: a kid’s. For this special episode of Humans of Salesforce, Claire Rowley, who leads employee engagement at Salesforce and recently marked her fourth anniversary with the company, hands the mic to a guest who has known her a lot longer than that: her 11-year-old daughter, Alison. Recorded in the Dublin tower, it’s a conversation about Salesforce Adventure Club, the annual event Claire’s team dreams up and Alison has been attending for years, told from the only perspective that really counts: a kid’s. sales, technology, b2b, saas, salesforce, tech false full 5 a90532b5-ad75-4456-8bac-b6a3f0ba7837 Everyone Has a Seat at the Table: Sheridan Gaenger on Genforce and Five Generations at Salesforce Molly Q. Ford, VP of Employee Engagement and Recruitment Marketing at Salesforce, sits down with Sheridan Gaenger, President of Genforce San Francisco Bay Area and leader of Salesforce’s global platform field marketing team, at a moment when a lot of companies are quietly treating culture and values like line items. Sheridan has seen both versions of the story. She joined Salesforce in 2007 for the perks — gym memberships, snacks in the kitchen — and figured out fast that perks are just a line item on a spreadsheet, not a culture. What actually changed her experience was volunteering at Benioff Children’s Hospital and discovering how much there was to learn beyond the borders of her own org chart.

She left in 2013, came back at the end of 2024 through the Own acquisition, and took on Genforce this past May — a generational equality group built for the five generations now working at Salesforce, where a millennial and a baby boomer can sit in the same room, leave the biases at the door, and talk honestly about early career, aging parents, and raising kids in a digital era. Sheridan and Molly get into her day job running field marketing for one of Salesforce’s largest cloud businesses and why culture and performance aren’t the same thing but sit on the same thread, the mentors who anchored her through an acquisition, and the Women in Tech program heading into its 15th run at Dreamforce.

They also dig into AI on both sides of the line: the professional excitement of a company where nobody holds their work tight (including the Slackbot skill that turns a full day of Dreamforce reporting into 35 seconds), and the personal fear of parenting two daughters who can’t always tell what’s real. Plus, the Genforce panel series on parenting across generations, the next one on aging parents and ChatGPT guardrails, Sheridan’s superpower, and why she shows up every day: the community.
 

Quotes

“Once you got here, you realized that perks were just a line item on a spreadsheet. Perks is not culture.” — Sheridan

“Culture and performance, they’re not the same, but they’re definitely on the same thread.” — Sheridan

“If you can create a culture that drives trust within your employees, then that ultimately will drive trust with your customers.” — Sheridan

“I’m just the voice in the room, but you are the people that are filling it — even if you are not there.” — Sheridan


Time Stamps

[01:07] Welcome to Humans of Salesforce; Why Culture Is the Differentiator in Uncertain Times

[01:45] Introducing Sheridan Gaenger: Boomerang, Acqui-Hire, President of Genforce San Francisco Bay Area

[02:10] Joining Salesforce in 2007 — and Learning That Perks Are Just a Line Item

[03:55] What Is Genforce? Five Generations and a Vulnerable Community

[06:15] Sheridan’s Day Job: Leading Global Platform Field Marketing

[07:05] Culture and Performance: Not the Same, but on the Same Thread

[08:35] Agents and Humans in Practice — and Why Employees Connecting With Employees Hits KPIs

[09:30] The Boomerang Story: Returning Through the Own Acquisition in 2024

[11:05] When Other Companies Pull Back on Culture and Equality

[12:40] Women in Tech: 15 Programs In, and Heading to Dreamforce

[15:25] AI in the Agentic Enterprise: Excitement, Fear, and Context

[16:05] The Culture of Sharing — Slackbot Skills, Claude, and Best Practices Nobody Holds Tight

[17:15] How Genforce Made Her More Confident in Conversations With Her Kids

[17:45] Why Culture Still Matters Right Now

[18:55] Genforce Programming: The July Panel on Parenting Across Generations

[19:45] Next Up: Aging Parents, Caretaking, and ChatGPT Guardrails

[20:30] Breaking Down Barriers: In Person, Virtual, and Beyond the Office

[21:00] How to Find Genforce: Basecamp and Slackbot

[22:30] Why Slackbot Insights Are Turning Up in Business Results

[22:50] The New Era of Sharing and What It Does for Connection

[25:35] Culture Isn’t a Survey Score — Molly’s Closing Reflection

Links

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]]> Thu, 3 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000 meredith@caspianstudios.com (Sheridan Gaenger, Molly Q. Ford) https://humans-of-salesforce-who-we-are.simplecast.com/episodes/everyone-has-a-seat-at-the-table-sheridan-gaenger-on-genforce-and-five-generations-at-salesforce-zsGeQnLr Molly Q. Ford, VP of Employee Engagement and Recruitment Marketing at Salesforce, sits down with Sheridan Gaenger, President of Genforce San Francisco Bay Area and leader of Salesforce’s global platform field marketing team, at a moment when a lot of companies are quietly treating culture and values like line items. Sheridan has seen both versions of the story. She joined Salesforce in 2007 for the perks — gym memberships, snacks in the kitchen — and figured out fast that perks are just a line item on a spreadsheet, not a culture. What actually changed her experience was volunteering at Benioff Children’s Hospital and discovering how much there was to learn beyond the borders of her own org chart.

She left in 2013, came back at the end of 2024 through the Own acquisition, and took on Genforce this past May — a generational equality group built for the five generations now working at Salesforce, where a millennial and a baby boomer can sit in the same room, leave the biases at the door, and talk honestly about early career, aging parents, and raising kids in a digital era. Sheridan and Molly get into her day job running field marketing for one of Salesforce’s largest cloud businesses and why culture and performance aren’t the same thing but sit on the same thread, the mentors who anchored her through an acquisition, and the Women in Tech program heading into its 15th run at Dreamforce.

They also dig into AI on both sides of the line: the professional excitement of a company where nobody holds their work tight (including the Slackbot skill that turns a full day of Dreamforce reporting into 35 seconds), and the personal fear of parenting two daughters who can’t always tell what’s real. Plus, the Genforce panel series on parenting across generations, the next one on aging parents and ChatGPT guardrails, Sheridan’s superpower, and why she shows up every day: the community.
 

Quotes

“Once you got here, you realized that perks were just a line item on a spreadsheet. Perks is not culture.” — Sheridan

“Culture and performance, they’re not the same, but they’re definitely on the same thread.” — Sheridan

“If you can create a culture that drives trust within your employees, then that ultimately will drive trust with your customers.” — Sheridan

“I’m just the voice in the room, but you are the people that are filling it — even if you are not there.” — Sheridan


Time Stamps

[01:07] Welcome to Humans of Salesforce; Why Culture Is the Differentiator in Uncertain Times

[01:45] Introducing Sheridan Gaenger: Boomerang, Acqui-Hire, President of Genforce San Francisco Bay Area

[02:10] Joining Salesforce in 2007 — and Learning That Perks Are Just a Line Item

[03:55] What Is Genforce? Five Generations and a Vulnerable Community

[06:15] Sheridan’s Day Job: Leading Global Platform Field Marketing

[07:05] Culture and Performance: Not the Same, but on the Same Thread

[08:35] Agents and Humans in Practice — and Why Employees Connecting With Employees Hits KPIs

[09:30] The Boomerang Story: Returning Through the Own Acquisition in 2024

[11:05] When Other Companies Pull Back on Culture and Equality

[12:40] Women in Tech: 15 Programs In, and Heading to Dreamforce

[15:25] AI in the Agentic Enterprise: Excitement, Fear, and Context

[16:05] The Culture of Sharing — Slackbot Skills, Claude, and Best Practices Nobody Holds Tight

[17:15] How Genforce Made Her More Confident in Conversations With Her Kids

[17:45] Why Culture Still Matters Right Now

[18:55] Genforce Programming: The July Panel on Parenting Across Generations

[19:45] Next Up: Aging Parents, Caretaking, and ChatGPT Guardrails

[20:30] Breaking Down Barriers: In Person, Virtual, and Beyond the Office

[21:00] How to Find Genforce: Basecamp and Slackbot

[22:30] Why Slackbot Insights Are Turning Up in Business Results

[22:50] The New Era of Sharing and What It Does for Connection

[25:35] Culture Isn’t a Survey Score — Molly’s Closing Reflection

Links

Connect with the guest and host on LinkedIn!

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]]> Everyone Has a Seat at the Table: Sheridan Gaenger on Genforce and Five Generations at Salesforce Sheridan Gaenger, Molly Q. Ford 00:26:00 Molly Q. Ford, VP of Employee Engagement and Recruitment Marketing at Salesforce, sits down with Sheridan Gaenger, President of Genforce San Francisco Bay Area and leader of Salesforce’s global platform field marketing team, to talk about Sheridan's day job running field marketing for one of Salesforce’s largest cloud businesses and why culture and performance aren’t the same thing but sit on the same thread, the mentors who anchored her through an acquisition, and the Women in Tech program heading into its 15th run at Dreamforce. Molly Q. Ford, VP of Employee Engagement and Recruitment Marketing at Salesforce, sits down with Sheridan Gaenger, President of Genforce San Francisco Bay Area and leader of Salesforce’s global platform field marketing team, to talk about Sheridan's day job running field marketing for one of Salesforce’s largest cloud businesses and why culture and performance aren’t the same thing but sit on the same thread, the mentors who anchored her through an acquisition, and the Women in Tech program heading into its 15th run at Dreamforce. sales, technology, marketing, b2b, saas, genforce, salesforce, tech false full 4 dba2f615-f702-46ab-9241-ea5ccfc11166 Mission-Focused: Translating Military Skills Into Salesforce Careers with Tom House Molly Q. Ford, VP of Employee Engagement and Recruitment Marketing at Salesforce, sits down with Tom House, a 25-year U.S. Navy veteran who now leads Salesforce Military, the program supporting nearly 90,000 veterans, military spouses, and transitioning service members across Salesforce and its ISV and SI partners. Tom traces his path from Navy boot camp and a decade at sea, to volunteering with the Vetforce employee resource group as what he calls his "yay job," to eventually stepping into the role full time.

Tom and Molly dig into the real numbers behind military transition, why military spouses face 20-22% unemployment, and how skills like adaptability ("Semper Gumby"), fast decision-making, and battle-tested leadership translate directly into Salesforce careers. They trade stories about Salesforce's veteran community, from Blue Angel pilots to a VTO day spent restoring the AIDS Memorial Grove, and talk about how AI and Slackbot show up in Tom's day-to-day work, including his go-to World Cup icebreaker prompt. They close out on allyship, empathy as a superpower, and the military tradition of the challenge coin.

Quotes

"Veterans look like everyone, but we also look like no one." — Tom

"If you hire a veteran, you're gonna get someone that's resilient, that's gonna roll up their sleeves and lead... someone who has made tough decisions quickly and has had to stick by those decisions no matter what." — Tom

Time Stamps

[00:00] Welcome to Humans of Salesforce with Molly Q. Ford

[01:14] Meet Tom House, Director, Salesforce Military Program

[02:19] 25 Years in the Navy: The Aircraft Carrier Analogy

[03:24] From Vetforce Volunteer to Running Salesforce Military

[05:28] Big Shoes to Fill: Humbled by the Leaders Who Came Before

[06:48] The Military Spouse Employment Gap

[08:15] Translating Military Skills: Semper Gumby and Leadership 101

[09:32] What Hiring Managers Get When They Hire a Veteran

[11:10] The Dreamforce Moment That Sealed It

[12:34] AI Fluency in the Military Community

[13:49] Tom's World Cup Slackbot Icebreaker

[14:41] Giving Back: VTO With Vetforce at the AIDS Memorial Grove

[16:41] Unsung Heroes: Katie Cook, Dean Robinson, and More

[17:50] Molly's Air Force Academy Storytelling Moment

[19:49] Why Allyship Is Critical for Veterans

[21:50] Favorite Slackbot Prompts and the Power of Prep

[23:03] The Salesforce Value That Resonates Most: Equality

[23:46] Why Tom Shows Up Every Day — And the Challenge Coin Tradition

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]]> Fri, 7 Aug 2026 00:45:41 +0000 meredith@caspianstudios.com (Tom House, Molly Q. Ford) https://humans-of-salesforce-who-we-are.simplecast.com/episodes/mission-focused-translating-military-skills-into-salesforce-careers-with-tom-house-b8j9ItkV Molly Q. Ford, VP of Employee Engagement and Recruitment Marketing at Salesforce, sits down with Tom House, a 25-year U.S. Navy veteran who now leads Salesforce Military, the program supporting nearly 90,000 veterans, military spouses, and transitioning service members across Salesforce and its ISV and SI partners. Tom traces his path from Navy boot camp and a decade at sea, to volunteering with the Vetforce employee resource group as what he calls his "yay job," to eventually stepping into the role full time.

Tom and Molly dig into the real numbers behind military transition, why military spouses face 20-22% unemployment, and how skills like adaptability ("Semper Gumby"), fast decision-making, and battle-tested leadership translate directly into Salesforce careers. They trade stories about Salesforce's veteran community, from Blue Angel pilots to a VTO day spent restoring the AIDS Memorial Grove, and talk about how AI and Slackbot show up in Tom's day-to-day work, including his go-to World Cup icebreaker prompt. They close out on allyship, empathy as a superpower, and the military tradition of the challenge coin.

Quotes

"Veterans look like everyone, but we also look like no one." — Tom

"If you hire a veteran, you're gonna get someone that's resilient, that's gonna roll up their sleeves and lead... someone who has made tough decisions quickly and has had to stick by those decisions no matter what." — Tom

Time Stamps

[00:00] Welcome to Humans of Salesforce with Molly Q. Ford

[01:14] Meet Tom House, Director, Salesforce Military Program

[02:19] 25 Years in the Navy: The Aircraft Carrier Analogy

[03:24] From Vetforce Volunteer to Running Salesforce Military

[05:28] Big Shoes to Fill: Humbled by the Leaders Who Came Before

[06:48] The Military Spouse Employment Gap

[08:15] Translating Military Skills: Semper Gumby and Leadership 101

[09:32] What Hiring Managers Get When They Hire a Veteran

[11:10] The Dreamforce Moment That Sealed It

[12:34] AI Fluency in the Military Community

[13:49] Tom's World Cup Slackbot Icebreaker

[14:41] Giving Back: VTO With Vetforce at the AIDS Memorial Grove

[16:41] Unsung Heroes: Katie Cook, Dean Robinson, and More

[17:50] Molly's Air Force Academy Storytelling Moment

[19:49] Why Allyship Is Critical for Veterans

[21:50] Favorite Slackbot Prompts and the Power of Prep

[23:03] The Salesforce Value That Resonates Most: Equality

[23:46] Why Tom Shows Up Every Day — And the Challenge Coin Tradition

Links

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]]> Mission-Focused: Translating Military Skills Into Salesforce Careers with Tom House Tom House, Molly Q. Ford 00:22:01 Molly Q. Ford, VP of Employee Engagement and Recruitment Marketing at Salesforce, sits down with Tom House, a 25-year U.S. Navy veteran who now leads Salesforce Military, the program supporting nearly 90,000 veterans, military spouses, and transitioning service members across Salesforce and its ISV and SI partners. Tom traces his path from Navy boot camp and a decade at sea, to volunteering with the Vetforce employee resource group as what he calls his "yay job," to eventually stepping into the role full time. Molly Q. Ford, VP of Employee Engagement and Recruitment Marketing at Salesforce, sits down with Tom House, a 25-year U.S. Navy veteran who now leads Salesforce Military, the program supporting nearly 90,000 veterans, military spouses, and transitioning service members across Salesforce and its ISV and SI partners. Tom traces his path from Navy boot camp and a decade at sea, to volunteering with the Vetforce employee resource group as what he calls his "yay job," to eventually stepping into the role full time. sales, technology, marketing, data, b2b, saas, analytics, salesforce false full 3 a4921a68-1947-458d-80f3-4f6099789b74 AI Native From Day One: Two Futureforce Interns on Building the Future at Salesforce What does it look like to start your career at one of the most interesting moments in tech, when AI is rewriting the rules for entry-level talent? 

Molly Q. Ford, VP of Employee Engagement and Recruitment Marketing at Salesforce, sits down with David and Sumreen, two Futureforce interns spending their summer building AI at Salesforce headquarters in San Francisco. David, a computer science student at Grambling State University originally from Ghana, is working on the Slackbot AI team building "Slides AI" (aka Clips), a new way to generate shareable, multimedia presentations directly inside Slack. Sumreen, a Carnegie Mellon University student originally from India and a multi-summer Futureforce intern, is building AI infrastructure on the Agentforce Cloud team and shipping production work on Asset360.

Molly, David, and Sumreen dig into Marc Benioff's tweet about hiring 1,000 new grads even as AI reshapes entry-level work, and why both interns see that as reason for optimism rather than anxiety. They talk about what it means to be AI native from day one, why fundamentals like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python still matter even as tools change, and how trust, autonomy, and customer success show up in their day-to-day work. They also swap favorite Slackbot prompts, talk imposter syndrome and belonging, and share what brings them joy outside of code, from Yosemite hikes to the moment a hard problem finally clicks.

Quotes

"As a child you’re always like, 'I'm gonna work in that tall building someday. Mom, I made it. I'm here.'" — Sumreen

"There won't ever be a time where you're 100% ready for a task. Just go for it, knock it out, and you'll be surprised what you're capable of doing." — Sumreen

"My superpower is taste... your ability to bring your soft skills into a technical skill environment is very big in terms of being a differentiator." — David

"I show up every day because I'm excited to work on stuff and build stuff that's not out there yet, and I know that I'm making my younger self proud every day." — Sumreen

Time Stamps

[01:19] Welcome to Humans of Salesforce with Molly Q. Ford

[01:47] Meet David and Sumreen: Futureforce Interns

[03:00] First Impressions of Salesforce HQ in San Francisco

[03:50] Responding to Marc Benioff's Tweet on AI and Entry-Level Jobs

[05:38] Sumreen on Returning as a Multi-Summer Intern: How AI Integration Has Shifted

[06:35] David's First Summer: Did Reality Match the Expectations?

[08:21] Building Slides AI: Turning Slack Content Into Shareable Presentations

[11:19] Sumreen on Asset360: Shipping to Production and Feeling the Pace

[12:40] Advice for Students Prepping for a Career in Tech

[14:34] Get Your Fundamentals Right: Why David Says Don't Over-Rely on AI Tools

[17:00] Futureforce Community and the "I Belong Here" Moment

[19:00] Sumreen on Imposter Syndrome and Being Trusted With Real Work

[19:45] Startup vs. Enterprise: David on Scale, Resources, and Autonomy at Salesforce

Links

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]]> Thu, 23 Jul 2026 21:38:01 +0000 meredith@caspianstudios.com (Sumreen Fathima, David Nintang, Molly Q. Ford) https://humans-of-salesforce-who-we-are.simplecast.com/episodes/ai-native-from-day-one-two-futureforce-interns-on-building-the-future-at-salesforce-5_FNPwIg What does it look like to start your career at one of the most interesting moments in tech, when AI is rewriting the rules for entry-level talent? 

Molly Q. Ford, VP of Employee Engagement and Recruitment Marketing at Salesforce, sits down with David and Sumreen, two Futureforce interns spending their summer building AI at Salesforce headquarters in San Francisco. David, a computer science student at Grambling State University originally from Ghana, is working on the Slackbot AI team building "Slides AI" (aka Clips), a new way to generate shareable, multimedia presentations directly inside Slack. Sumreen, a Carnegie Mellon University student originally from India and a multi-summer Futureforce intern, is building AI infrastructure on the Agentforce Cloud team and shipping production work on Asset360.

Molly, David, and Sumreen dig into Marc Benioff's tweet about hiring 1,000 new grads even as AI reshapes entry-level work, and why both interns see that as reason for optimism rather than anxiety. They talk about what it means to be AI native from day one, why fundamentals like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python still matter even as tools change, and how trust, autonomy, and customer success show up in their day-to-day work. They also swap favorite Slackbot prompts, talk imposter syndrome and belonging, and share what brings them joy outside of code, from Yosemite hikes to the moment a hard problem finally clicks.

Quotes

"As a child you’re always like, 'I'm gonna work in that tall building someday. Mom, I made it. I'm here.'" — Sumreen

"There won't ever be a time where you're 100% ready for a task. Just go for it, knock it out, and you'll be surprised what you're capable of doing." — Sumreen

"My superpower is taste... your ability to bring your soft skills into a technical skill environment is very big in terms of being a differentiator." — David

"I show up every day because I'm excited to work on stuff and build stuff that's not out there yet, and I know that I'm making my younger self proud every day." — Sumreen

Time Stamps

[01:19] Welcome to Humans of Salesforce with Molly Q. Ford

[01:47] Meet David and Sumreen: Futureforce Interns

[03:00] First Impressions of Salesforce HQ in San Francisco

[03:50] Responding to Marc Benioff's Tweet on AI and Entry-Level Jobs

[05:38] Sumreen on Returning as a Multi-Summer Intern: How AI Integration Has Shifted

[06:35] David's First Summer: Did Reality Match the Expectations?

[08:21] Building Slides AI: Turning Slack Content Into Shareable Presentations

[11:19] Sumreen on Asset360: Shipping to Production and Feeling the Pace

[12:40] Advice for Students Prepping for a Career in Tech

[14:34] Get Your Fundamentals Right: Why David Says Don't Over-Rely on AI Tools

[17:00] Futureforce Community and the "I Belong Here" Moment

[19:00] Sumreen on Imposter Syndrome and Being Trusted With Real Work

[19:45] Startup vs. Enterprise: David on Scale, Resources, and Autonomy at Salesforce

Links

Connect with the host on LinkedIn!

Learn more about:


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]]> AI Native From Day One: Two Futureforce Interns on Building the Future at Salesforce Sumreen Fathima, David Nintang, Molly Q. Ford 00:25:30 Molly Q. Ford, VP of Employee Engagement and Recruitment Marketing at Salesforce, sits down with David and Sumreen, two Futureforce interns spending their summer building AI at Salesforce headquarters in San Francisco. They talk about what it means to be AI native from day one, why fundamentals like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python still matter even as tools change, and how trust, autonomy, and customer success show up in their day-to-day work. Molly Q. Ford, VP of Employee Engagement and Recruitment Marketing at Salesforce, sits down with David and Sumreen, two Futureforce interns spending their summer building AI at Salesforce headquarters in San Francisco. They talk about what it means to be AI native from day one, why fundamentals like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python still matter even as tools change, and how trust, autonomy, and customer success show up in their day-to-day work. technology, saas, salesforce, ai, artificial intelligence, tech false full 2 aea7802a-a458-4cc5-9dd4-9449cc05a2d2 Welcome to Humans of Salesforce!  At Salesforce, business is a platform for change, and we've held that belief and acted on that since the starting of the company. But that truly starts first with our people. We are the change-makers, the builders, and the lifelong learners. We are AI native, and we showcase our values through the 1-1-1 model. Joy is our North Star, and it's brought to life by our people and our values. There are over 80,000 members of our ohana, and they, our people, are our competitive advantage. This show is about the ones you haven't met yet. Here are the humans of Salesforce, and this is who we are.


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]]> Wed, 22 Jul 2026 07:00:00 +0000 meredith@caspianstudios.com (Molly Q. Ford) https://humans-of-salesforce-who-we-are.simplecast.com/episodes/welcome-to-humans-of-salesforce-gongX0_z  At Salesforce, business is a platform for change, and we've held that belief and acted on that since the starting of the company. But that truly starts first with our people. We are the change-makers, the builders, and the lifelong learners. We are AI native, and we showcase our values through the 1-1-1 model. Joy is our North Star, and it's brought to life by our people and our values. There are over 80,000 members of our ohana, and they, our people, are our competitive advantage. This show is about the ones you haven't met yet. Here are the humans of Salesforce, and this is who we are.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

]]> Welcome to Humans of Salesforce! Molly Q. Ford 00:00:49 Welcome to Humans of Salesforce! Welcome to Humans of Salesforce! technology, b2b, saas, salesforce, tech false full 1