Trish Perkins is a Salesforce MVP who works with non-profits around the globe. She is the executive director at World Touch and an ardent peace lover.
We’d like to know more about the fun side of the MVPs! And from what we heard, so do a lot of people in the community. Welcome to the Proust for Salesforce experts.
I’m looking forward to connecting with some of my collaborators in various groups. It’s almost always about people with me.
Q: How did your love for Salesforce start? Was it a conscious choice or did the whole universe just conspire and make it happen?
The love for databases actually coincides with another of my loves: organizing stuff in the house. I was Marie Kondo before she was born. You take stuff out of the closet, put everything is piles of like things, put them all into boxes you’ve labeled and put them back in the closet. What is that, if not a database?
I had been working mainly in Access when I decided to try this Salesforce app out. I was working as a VISTA volunteer in a nonprofit that supports immigrants.
Q: What is your current role?
I run my own consultancy business, working exclusively with nonprofits in the States and internationally.
Q: What does being a Salesforce MVP mean to you?
First of all, I’m extremely grateful for the recognition that I make a valuable contribution to the community. It feels really validating to have my work seen and appreciated. Second, it also opens doors for me. I reach out to my MVP friends for advice, for support when I don’t know all the answers, and when I want to build something and need help.
Q: If not a Salesforce expert, what would you like to have been known as?
I see myself as working for world peace through intercultural communication and art. Not sure I’ll be “known as” a peacemaker.
Q: From being a freelance writer, how did you start working with technology in nonprofits and now with WorldsTouch?
I just decided to go back to university to “learn about computers.” All I could do was Microsoft Word at the time. I wanted to learn about this newfangled thing.
Q: Working with nonprofits around the world is not just about helping others, but also about helping and changing yourself”. Do you have a memory you’d like to share with our readers about a specific instance when you have felt this happen.
Every time I get off an airplane in a place I know and love, I feel the connection. Humans are about connection, and I’ve learned that over and over in the world with people who, from the outside, look very different from me.
Q: Which blogs/channels do you follow to get your Salesforce elixir?
I go to the Power of Us Hub and the Trailblazer community regularly. I check my Twitter feed every couple of days. When I get stuck, I start with Google, which often takes me to unknown golden nuggets of blog posts.
Q: What’s next in line for you after attaining the coveted MVP title?
I have an open source product I’m collaborating with others to offer free to the community. We’ll be testing it in the field in a few weeks.
Q: What has been your most memorable Dreamforce experience till date?
What are you looking forward to the most this #DF19? I think my first Dreamforce will always be my most memorable. It was smaller, and yet I was thunderstruck with the opulence. I’m looking forward to connecting with some of my collaborators in various groups. It’s almost always about people with me.
Q: What is your advice to those stepping into Salesforce?
Get certified, and start supporting the community. Perfect your listening skills.
Q: Do you have any certifications? If yes, how many?
Only one: System Administrator
Q: Do you run a personal blog?
Please share the link. Well, the blog is in serious need of updating. As soon as I get time, I’ll splash out in the world. For now, I’m a bit reticent…it’s not where I want it to be.
Q: Other than Salesforce, what does your world look like?
Lots of airports, for one thing. Lots of restaurants in interesting parts of the world. At home, gatherings with friends and yoga. With a hefty dose of Netflix and library books.
Q: What’s something about you that you think would surprise others?
In my 50s, I crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a sailboat, working as the cook. In my 20s, I lived on a commune in Alaska.
Q: Anything we missed?
The support of my husband, who is a fantastic artist and photographer, makes my work possible. The support of my American clients makes my international work possible. I’m grateful to all those who make it possible for me to do this work.
Trish Perkins is a Salesforce MVP who works with non-profits around the globe. She is the executive director at World Touch and an ardent peace lover.
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