Mums On Cloud Nine

What happens when an accidental step into marketing automation becomes a career, a global community and a Salesforce Golden Hoodie? 

In this episode of the Mums on Cloud Nine podcast, I'm joined by Ben LaMothe, a Salesforce Marketing Cloud specialist, community leader and Golden Hoodie recipient. 

Ben shares how his career developed from social media marketing and SEO into Pardot, now known as Marketing Cloud Account Engagement. He also explains why leaving the platform for several years helped him recognize the opportunity he had been missing.  

Building Community During COVID 

Ben's Golden Hoodie story began when he launched a Pardot community group in Tampa Bay, Florida. His first in-person meeting was scheduled for the same week COVID restrictions began, forcing him to cancel and move the group online. 

The virtual format soon attracted people from across the United States and other parts of the world. Ben noticed that many other community leaders shared his enthusiasm but lacked support with finding speakers, promoting meetings and creating useful sessions. 

He began bringing Marketing Cloud and Account Engagement group leaders together across several time zones. Community leaders from India, Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas were able to share advice, resources and experiences. 

The work required considerable time alongside Ben's full-time role and personal commitments. His efforts caught the attention of Gilda Hilaire at Salesforce, who nominated him for a Golden Hoodie. 

Ben received the award during the Marketing Cloud keynote at Dreamforce in 2021. 

Finding a Career That Felt Right  

Ben originally built his career around social media marketing while studying at City University in London. As businesses began investing in marketing automation, he was asked to compare platforms including Pardot, HubSpot, Marketo and Eloqua. 

His employer selected Pardot, and Ben taught himself how to use it. At that stage, he saw the platform as one part of his job and later moved away from marketing automation.  

A few years later, Ben began seeing growing demand for Pardot and Salesforce skills. He also found himself drawn back to email marketing and realized how much he enjoyed understanding customer journeys, lead nurturing and campaign performance. 

 That realization gave him a clear direction. Ben returned to Pardot, moved into consulting and built a career combining marketing strategy with technical platform knowledge. 

Learning Through Failure  

Ben speaks honestly about studying for the Salesforce Administrator certification and failing the exam three times.  

His experience showed him that daily exposure to one part of Salesforce did not automatically provide a full understanding of the wider platform. His marketing work focused mainly on campaigns, leads and contacts, while the administrator exam covered a much broader range of features. 

Ben listened to training materials during his commute, studied the platform and continued taking the exam until he passed. He later faced similar challenges with the Sales Cloud Consultant certification. 

His advice is simple. Anyone specializing in Marketing Cloud, Experience Cloud, Financial Services Cloud or another Salesforce product will benefit from understanding the core CRM platform. 

Why AI Cannot Repair Poor Data  

Ben also offers an honest assessment of AI adoption across mid-sized B2B companies.  

Many organizations want to introduce Agentforce and other AI tools while their Salesforce records contain missing fields, duplicate contacts, incomplete opportunities and inconsistent sales processes.  

Ben explains that AI depends on trustworthy information. When sales representatives create opportunities only when deals are about to close, or create contacts without converting the original leads, the organization loses the history needed for forecasting and machine learning. 

AI can amplify whatever information it receives. Poor-quality records can therefore produce unreliable recommendations, forecasts and customer segments. 

Ben sees practical opportunities in areas such as drafting email copy, creating landing page content and building Data Cloud segments. These smaller applications can reduce production time while organizations improve the data and processes required for broader AI programs. 

Building a Flexible Freelance Career 

After several years working with Salesforce partners, Ben moved into full-time freelance consulting in late 2025. 

He now supports clients with Marketing Cloud Account Engagement, Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud Next, HubSpot and wider marketing operations. His work combines implementation, campaign planning, lead management and strategic advice. 

Ben has found demand among businesses that need experienced support but cannot commit to a large consultancy contract. Flexible freelance arrangements give these companies access to specialist knowledge for a set number of hours each month. 

This episode offers an honest account of finding your specialization, learning from failure, supporting your professional community and preparing business data before investing heavily in AI.

What if the next step in your career came from simply showing up, helping someone else and being willing to say yes?
In this episode of the Mums on Cloud Nine podcast, I'm joined by Salesforce Golden Hoodie recipient Karmel James, whose career took her from studying chemistry to becoming a self-taught Salesforce professional, consultant and passionate member of the Salesforce community.
From Chemistry to Salesforce
Karmel never planned a career in Salesforce. After graduating with a chemistry degree, she joined a nonprofit and found herself helping with a Salesforce implementation when her manager left the organization.
With the consultants gone and a platform she barely knew suddenly becoming her responsibility, Karmel turned to Trailhead and her scientific background. She knew how to research a problem, test possible solutions and keep learning until things made sense.
Salesforce soon became something she wanted to pursue as a career.
Why Showing Up Can Change Your Career
Karmel began attending Salesforce Saturdays, user groups, developer meetups and community events, including sessions where she initially felt outside her comfort zone.
Those rooms created opportunities she could never have planned.
During one Salesforce Saturday, Karmel helped another attendee work through a business problem on a whiteboard. Someone from a consulting company happened to be watching and later asked whether she had considered becoming a consultant.
Three interviews later, Karmel had a new job.
Her experience offers a useful lesson for anyone building or relaunching a career. People get to see how you think, communicate and help others when you participate in communities. Sometimes your next opportunity starts before you even know somebody is watching.
Creating Spaces Where People Feel They Belong
Karmel also shares the story behind receiving her Salesforce Golden Hoodie in Washington, DC, in December 2022.
At community events, she made a habit of spotting people sitting alone or looking uncomfortable. She would introduce herself, invite them to sit beside her and help them feel part of the group.
Her philosophy is wonderfully simple: if somebody has made the effort to enter the room, they deserve to feel they belong there.
That approach eventually caught the attention of Salesforce's Gilda Hilaire, who saw how consistently Karmel supported people across the community.
Karmel was eventually invited to speak at World Tour DC, unaware that Salesforce had another surprise waiting for her. After telling her story on stage, she was called back up and presented with a Golden Hoodie.
Becoming a "General Surgeon" of Salesforce
Rather than defining herself through one industry, Karmel describes herself as a "general surgeon of Salesforce."
Her career has taken her through nonprofits, SaaS, associations, private equity, healthcare and financial services. Her confidence comes from understanding the Salesforce platform and developing strong business analysis skills, then learning the business behind each new role.
For women worried that they lack experience in a particular sector, her story shows why transferable skills, curiosity and the ability to understand business problems can open unexpected doors.
Why Mums Already Have Transferable Skills
Towards the end of our conversation, Karmel makes a powerful observation about mums returning to work.
She sees mums as CEOs of their families.
Managing budgets, solving problems, negotiating with children, organizing competing priorities and making decisions are genuine transferable skills. Karmel argues that women returning to work should recognize the experience they already possess rather than discounting it because it happened outside a traditional workplace.
We also discuss AI, why Karmel prefers to understand how something works before relying on technology to provide an answer, and why human judgment remains important as AI becomes part of everyday work.
Mums on Cloud Nine is your go-to destination for inspiring content that empowers women to build a life and career they love.
Each week, we share expert advice, personal stories, and practical tips across a range of topics, from health and mindset to money and career growth.
Check out our website at www.mumsoncloudnine.co.uk and subscribe for weekly tips to elevate your mindset.
What skills from your own life could become the starting point for your next career opportunity? Share your thoughts with us.

What happens when curiosity, community and a willingness to keep learning turn a career in technology into a Golden Hoodie story? 
In this episode of the Mums on Cloud Nine podcast, I'm joined by John Lay, who became the second person to receive a Salesforce Golden Hoodie when he was recognized at Dreamforce in 2017. 
John's story starts long before Salesforce. Growing up on a small farm in Tennessee, he originally planned to become a veterinarian before discovering an unexpected interest in data processing and computer science. That discovery led to a career centered around databases, customer data, and solving complex business problems through technology. 
 John shares how his Salesforce journey began while working at Camping World and Good Sam, where he faced the challenge of bringing together customer data spread across 14 operational systems. Starting with just 50 Service Cloud licenses, John helped prove what Salesforce could achieve before expanding into Sales Cloud and building a much broader CRM environment. 
 Much of what John needed to know, he had to learn quickly. He talks about attending Dreamforce, speaking to other Salesforce professionals wherever he could, and becoming an active member of the Trailblazer community. By learning from others and sharing his own experiences in return, John became part of the community that would eventually recognize his contribution with a Golden Hoodie. 
 We also hear how a chance conversation on a flight helped shape the next chapter of his career. After retiring from Camping World, John realized he wasn't ready to stop working and joined Alternative Solutions, where he now leads its CRM practice and works as a CRM architect across Salesforce and other platforms. 
Our conversation also turns to AI and what it means for admins, consultants and technology professionals today. John shares a simple analogy for working with AI: treat it like a talented junior colleague. Give it good information, clear direction and appropriate guardrails, then remain responsible for checking the output. 
John also shares how he uses tools including ChatGPT, Otter.ai and Salesforce Agentforce Vibe in his own work, including an interesting approach where he uses ChatGPT to develop and refine prompts before taking them into Salesforce tools that have access to the relevant metadata. 
John's career is a great example of where curiosity and continuous learning can take you. From discovering data processing almost by accident to tackling complex CRM challenges, receiving a Golden Hoodie and now experimenting with the latest AI development tools, he has continued to learn throughout every stage of his career. 
What could you achieve in your own career by staying curious, asking questions and continuing to learn? Listen to the episode and share your thoughts with us. 
About Supermums 
Founded by Heather Black, a Salesforce Golden Hoodie winner, Supermums helps relaunchers and seasoned Salesforce professionals accelerate their careers in tech through expert training, career coaching and recruitment support. 
Whether someone is returning to work, pivoting into a new role, or ready to step up in the Salesforce ecosystem, Supermums provides practical training, mentoring and access to job opportunities to help them build confidence, sharpen their skills and progress faster. 
Alongside its career development programmes, Supermums partners with employers to connect them with talented Salesforce professionals who are ready to make an impact.
Find out more here https://supermums.org/podcast-intro  
About our Sponsor, Hubbl Technologies 
Hubbl gives Salesforce teams the clarity they need to move faster.
By connecting technical metadata with real business processes, Hubbl reveals what is happening inside your Salesforce org — from security and access risks to process gaps, tech debt, and AI readiness. The result: less guesswork, faster audits, better documentation, and smarter decisions for teams who want to build, scale, and innovate with confidence 
Find out more about https://qrco.de/bgY7zw

What happens when sharing the parts of your career that feel hardest to talk about helps create a community where others finally feel understood? 
In this episode of our Golden Hoodie Winners series, we speak with Katie Villanueva, a Salesforce Administrator, community leader, mental health advocate, and 2023 Salesforce Golden Hoodie recipient.
Katie shares how speaking openly about living with bipolar disorder and her experiences as a Salesforce professional led her to create a virtual community where people could talk openly about mental health, mental illness, work, and the pressures that often follow us throughout our careers. 
Her willingness to start those conversations brought people together across the Salesforce ecosystem and led to her receiving a Golden Hoodie on the Dreamforce Admin Keynote stage. 
Creating The Community She Wanted To See 
Katie discovered the Trailblazer Community after starting her Salesforce career during the pandemic. She wanted to contribute and speak at community events, but lacked confidence in delivering technical presentations. Instead, she began sharing her personal experiences of bipolar disorder, mental health, and how the Salesforce community had helped her become a better professional. 
The response showed that many people were looking for a place to have similar conversations. Katie took that community to Salesforce and asked to create a virtual user group dedicated to mental health and mental illness.
The group now brings people together each month to share resources, have meaningful conversations, and build relationships with others who understand the pressures of working in technology while managing the rest of their lives. 
From Call Center Employee To Salesforce Administrator 
Katie's route into Salesforce was far from straightforward. She originally studied farming before graduating in communications and mass communications during the Great Recession. After struggling to find work, she moved through roles in mortgage refinancing, energy data analysis, and eventually a call center where she first encountered Salesforce. 
Her next employer had a very different Salesforce setup. The company had no dedicated administrator, and Katie quickly recognized opportunities to improve how the platform was being managed. She wasn't enjoying sales, so she asked if she could become the Salesforce Administrator instead. That decision changed the direction of her career. 
Katie learned on Trailhead and applied those lessons directly in a live Salesforce environment. The experience gave her the confidence and practical skills to continue building her career. 
Why You Never Stop Being An Admin 
One of Katie's biggest career realizations came from understanding that becoming an architect, developer, or taking another role doesn't mean leaving your Salesforce Admin skills behind. 
As she puts it, "Admin's where we begin, but it never ends." 
Those core skills continue to influence how professionals solve problems, understand business processes, manage technology, and support users throughout their careers. 
Katie also shares what she is learning from working on a Salesforce team after spending much of her career managing environments independently, including the value of mentorship and learning from people in roles she previously held without knowing their official job titles. 
Speaking Up For Underrepresented Communities 
Our conversation also turns to representation within the Salesforce ecosystem. Katie discusses her work supporting Latino and Hispanic professionals in the United States and her desire to help people build stronger professional connections. 
She explains why creating opportunities for people to meet, share experiences, and see others like them progress in technology can have a lasting impact on confidence and career development. 
For Katie, community leadership means creating spaces where other voices can be heard and helping people find connections that may open doors throughout their careers. 
Admitting You Have AI Imposter Syndrome 
Despite receiving a Golden Hoodie and becoming a recognized Salesforce community leader, Katie openly admits she experiences imposter syndrome when it comes to AI and Agentforce. 
She shares the pressure that can come with external recognition, especially when people assume that wearing a Golden Hoodie means knowing everything about Salesforce. 
Katie's message is reassuring for anyone struggling to keep up with the pace of AI development. 
Everyone is at a different stage of their learning journey. 
She explains why Salesforce professionals don't need to abandon the skills they already have and how she stays informed about Agentforce. At the same time, her employer hasn't adopted it. Still, professionals can prepare themselves by following community conversations, attending workshops, completing Trailhead learning, and experimenting with the tools available to them. 
Learning AI Without Trying To Learn Everything 
Katie shares her practical approach to learning AI, beginning with Prompt Builder and understanding how better prompts can improve the results people receive from AI systems. 
We discuss how she uses ChatGPT to understand Salesforce Flows, solve problems, support her work, and even help with everyday tasks outside her career. She also explains why professionals should treat AI as a starting point rather than accepting every answer it provides. 
The conversation turns to the growing importance of testing AI systems, understanding the role of human oversight, and preparing for AI adoption by strengthening existing Salesforce skills. 
Katie's advice is simple and reassuring: stay informed, experiment where you can, and focus your learning on the areas that matter to your career and the problems you're trying to solve. 
About Mums On Cloud Nine 
Mums on Cloud Nine is your go-to destination for inspiring content that empowers women to build a life and career they love. 
Each week, we share expert advice, personal stories, and practical tips across a range of topics, from health and mindset to money and career growth. 
Check out our website at www.mumsoncloudnine.co.uk and subscribe for weekly tips to elevate your mindset. 
About Supermums 
Founded by Heather Black, a Salesforce Golden Hoodie winner, Supermums helps relaunchers and seasoned Salesforce professionals accelerate their careers in tech through expert training, career coaching and recruitment support. 
Whether someone is returning to work, pivoting into a new role, or ready to step up in the Salesforce ecosystem, Supermums provides practical training, mentoring and access to job opportunities to help them build confidence, sharpen their skills and progress faster. 
Alongside its career development programmes, Supermums partners with employers to connect them with talented Salesforce professionals who are ready to make an impact.
Find out more here https://supermums.org/podcast-intro  
About our Sponsor, Hubbl Technologies 
Hubbl gives Salesforce teams the clarity they need to move faster.
By connecting technical metadata with real business processes, Hubbl reveals what is happening inside your Salesforce org — from security and access risks to process gaps, tech debt, and AI readiness. The result: less guesswork, faster audits, better documentation, and smarter decisions for teams who want to build, scale, and innovate with confidence 
Find out more about https://qrco.de/bgY7zw

How does a tech internship at a community centre in Kenya lead to one of the highest honours in the Salesforce ecosystem?  

In this episode of our Golden Hoodie Winners series, I sit down with Alimali Stephens, Salesforce Senior Developer, community leader, and Salesforce Golden Hoodie recipient. Alimali shares an inspiring story that began with a desire to give back to his local community and led to an unforgettable moment on the Dreamforce stage.  

His journey reminds us that opportunities often arrive when we're focused on helping others rather than chasing recognition. 

Where It All Began 

Alimali takes us back to his early days at the Karibu Centre in Kenya, where he joined as an intern supporting programmes for mothers, children, and the wider community. 

 It was there that he was first introduced to Salesforce through a volunteer programme. Rather than simply learning a new platform, he became part of a project that transformed how the organisation measured its impact, automated manual processes, and better supported the families it served. 

That first experience with Salesforce would shape the rest of his career. 

An Unforgettable Dreamforce Moment 

One day, his director called him into the office with an unexpected question. How comfortable was he speaking in front of a large audience? 

Soon afterwards, Alimali discovered he had been invited to present on the Dreamforce Admin Keynote. It would be his first visit outside Africa, his first trip to the United States, and, as it turned out, the day he received a surprise Salesforce Golden Hoodie. 

To make the moment even more memorable, it all happened on his birthday.  

Building A Career While Building A Community 

Since receiving his Golden Hoodie, Alimali has continued to grow professionally, progressing from Salesforce Administrator to consultant and now Senior Salesforce Developer.  

Alongside his day job, he has remained committed to community leadership. As a Salesforce Community Leader in Nairobi and a technology lead with Africa Ohana, he spends his time mentoring aspiring professionals, organising events, and helping others discover opportunities within the Salesforce ecosystem. 

His belief is simple. The more people we help today, the stronger the community becomes tomorrow. 

Why Community Changes Careers 

Throughout our conversation, Alimali explains how discovering the Salesforce community transformed his own learning journey. 

Early in his career, he often found himself solving problems alone because he didn't know there were other Salesforce professionals nearby who could help. Today, he works to ensure new Trailblazers never have that same experience. 

It's a powerful reminder that asking questions, sharing knowledge, and supporting one another often accelerates everyone's growth. 

AI Through The Eyes Of A Salesforce Developer 

We also discuss how AI is changing the role of Salesforce developers.  

Rather than seeing AI as a threat, Alimali views it as a practical tool that helps developers solve problems faster, reduce repetitive work, and deliver better solutions for customers. He shares examples of building AI-powered Salesforce solutions and explains why learning to work alongside AI will become an increasingly valuable skill. 

What part of Alimali's journey inspired you the most, and how could giving back to your own community shape your career in ways you never expected? 
About Supermums 
Founded by Heather Black, a Salesforce Golden Hoodie winner, Supermums helps relaunchers and seasoned Salesforce professionals accelerate their careers in tech through expert training, career coaching and recruitment support. 
Whether someone is returning to work, pivoting into a new role, or ready to step up in the Salesforce ecosystem, Supermums provides practical training, mentoring and access to job opportunities to help them build confidence, sharpen their skills and progress faster. 
Alongside its career development programmes, Supermums partners with employers to connect them with talented Salesforce professionals who are ready to make an impact.
Find out more here https://supermums.org/podcast-intro  
About our Sponsor, Hubbl Technologies 
Hubbl gives Salesforce teams the clarity they need to move faster.
By connecting technical metadata with real business processes, Hubbl reveals what is happening inside your Salesforce org — from security and access risks to process gaps, tech debt, and AI readiness. The result: less guesswork, faster audits, better documentation, and smarter decisions for teams who want to build, scale, and innovate with confidence 
Find out more about https://qrco.de/bgY7zw