Welcome Rakia Finley – Girly Geek of the Week!
Seriously. THIS woman, right here is not only inspirational, but a role model. Her accomplishments speak for themselves. She is a Business Owner, Entrepreneur, Leader, Salesforce Developer, Salesforce Vet and the list goes on. Make sure to click on the links towards the end where you can read other articles where Rakia has been featured to learn even more about her. #ImpressedAndInspiredBeyondBelief 🙂 #ILookLikeAnEngineer
Me: How & when did you start working with Salesforce?
Rakia: I first began working with Salesforce in 2006. #SalesforceVet!!
Me: What is your current role working with Salesforce?
Rakia: I am a Salesforce Developer, my specialty is working with large complex Salesforce frameworks for National organizations in upgrading, re-mapping, troubleshooting and enhancing their current systems.
Me: What is your favorite thing to do in Salesforce and why?
Rakia: Triggers and Workflows, as a developer it’s a gut check to determine if you architected correctly and it’s that moment of bringing the system together for the client. Love it! This is not something we have heard yet in this blog series! #WomenDevelopers
Me: Are you currently certified? And if so what certifications do you hold?
Rakia: I am not currently certified. Sounds like the Salesforce Technical Architect Cert would be a great fit for you *wink* 🙂 We need more certified Female Technical Architects!
Me: What are some of your aspirations and/or goals when it comes to Salesforce?
Rakia: I love providing training to the end users who have massive Salesforce Systems. I would love to do Salesforce end user workshops nationally one day. With all that you have accomplished, I would say this isn’t a far reach at all! 🙂
Me: Do you have any advice for women working with Salesforce?
Rakia: Be a resource for women that want to be a part of this skillset. Put on a training or workshop in your area. We can’t grow if we don’t help the growth. #TRUTH – Let’s do this!
Me: What kinds of things are you involved in, and/or do you like to do outside of the Salesforce world?
Rakia: I own a Technology Strategy Firm based in Washington, DC. I also am currently developing three different startups around motherhood and I’m in the process of forming an all-girl STEM charter school in Washington, DC. For fun I love traveling with my husband and speaking about the importance of women in male dominated industries. Truly Amazing! when do you sleep?? 😉
Me: Are you part of a Girly Geeks Chapter?
Rakia: NO, there isn’t a Washington DC Chapter, but I would LOVE to be. Calling all Girly Geeks in the DC area! Who wants to open a chapter?! You already have 1 member 😀
A little bit more about Rakia:
Rakia is the CSO of Surge Assembly, a consulting firm designed to improve the growth of businesses and nonprofits. Her work includes consulting on the use of software systems to achieve corporate mission, information technology planning and the strategic use of technology.
She specializes in mastering technology and web systems to increase development among organizations. Her strength is in planning for specific technology projects that involve complex information systems.
With over 10 years’ experience in the information technology industry, she has become an industry expert on organizational issues associated with program creation and growth. She is active in the technology-for-enhancement movement and is frequently invited to speak at conferences across the country, primarily focusing on business strategy, development and technology.
Rakia is Surge Assembly’s designated “out of the box” thinker. Her clients have come to rely on her problem solving skills for the highly complex issues. She can be counted on to come up with a minimum of three alternatives to any idea. At the core of her work ethic is a great understanding of the overall goal, strategic execution of objectives and a keen attention to detail. Within her career, Rakia has created methods for improving and increasing each client’s brand, development standards and technology resources.
In 2010, Rakia founded A Better Tomorrow. ABT places high corporate companies and investment firms with non-profits and start-ups in one room, encouraging partnerships to unlock new opportunities for all parties. In April 2011, Rakia was named one of DC’s Top Women of Beauty & Inspiration.
She is a graduate of Hampton University, with a B.A. in Sociology and a graduate of Howard University, where she received her M.A. in Business Administration. She also holds Certificates in Computer Graphics and Web Design from the University of Maryland and a number of technology certifications from American University.
Rakia has also been featured in several articles, check them out!
http://blerds.atlantablackstar.com/2014/09/09/ceo-surge-assembly-rakia-finley/
http://www.womenintechcampaign.com/rakia.html
http://todaysleadingwomen.com/rakia-finley/
http://aaop.me/2014/08/14/pastries-and-champagne-the-launch/
It was a pleasure getting to know you Rakia and thank you very much for sharing!
You are definitely an inspiration!
For those of you that want to follow Rakia, here are her links:
Linkedin: www.linkedIN.com/in/rakiafinley
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rakia.finley
Twitter handle: @rakiamc
Sfdc Community link: https://success.salesforce.com/profile?u=0053000000BNHVVAA5
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