If you want the resume version, it’s probably easiest to check out my LinkedIn profile. If you want the story, stick around awhile.
I started working with nonprofits in college, doing data entry for the fundraising team at my hometown domestic violence shelter. As the unofficial techie in the office, I got to punch above my pay grade on technical projects — including helping with our migration from GiftMaker Pro to Raiser’s Edge. Fun fact: I spent my 21st birthday in Charleston at a training at Blackbaud.
After college, I had brief detours into journalism and Java development. (If you really want the whole story, let’s get coffee sometime.) When I moved to Seattle in 2010, I knew I wanted to use my technical skills to make a difference. I had never heard of Salesforce before, but when I saw a job posting that combined tech and social impact, I applied — and the rest is history.
I started as a consultant with NPower Seattle, then joined Bigger Boat Consulting as employee number one (or maybe number two, depending on whose offer letter went out first).
My early consulting career was a dream. I got to:
Walk in the footsteps of early NPSP pioneers (RIP Groundwire)
Help grow a new consulting practice from the ground up
Learn and apply agile methodology
Partner with human services organizations and see firsthand what it means to fight homelessness with empathy and pragmatism
Contribute to the first managed release of HomeKeeper, an affordable housing app built on Salesforce that’s still thriving today
I loved consulting and the creative energy of a small, mission-driven team — but I also wanted to deepen my technical expertise and learn from more seasoned developers. That’s when I joined the Salesforce Foundation.
Over nearly a decade with Salesforce (through its evolutions as Salesforce Foundation / Salesforce.org / Salesforce proper), I had the chance to:
Debug and build custom components for the Power of Us Hub (RIP)
Develop a Lightning Communities–based replacement for Volunteerforce, Salesforce’s internal employee volunteering app
Serve as the first Technical Architect for Nonprofit Cloud (for the NPSP-based version — many filled the role unofficially before and after, but I’ll take the bragging rights!)
Develop features within the Salesforce platform for Enablement — and yes, the first time I got a full Salesforce instance running locally, it felt like magic
After years of building products and supporting nonprofit organizations from the inside, I wanted to get closer again to the people doing the work on the ground — the small teams making big things happen with limited resources and a lot of creativity. That’s how Sundae Shop Consulting was born.
I started Sundae Shop to help mission-driven organizations and small consulting firms get the most out of the Salesforce platform - especially the parts that can be technically complex and intimidating.
If that sounds like your kind of project, let’s talk!