Shamli Nikam
(Photo : Shamli Nikam)

When working in a hospitality role, Shamli Nikam was tasked with investigating a new type of cloud platform, called Salesforce, to see if it was a worthwhile investment. In typical Shamli fashion, she became intimately familiar with the tool, its capabilities, and its applications. Though her organization at the time passed on purchasing the tool, Shamli saw its value and understood the future of the platform. From then on, she shaped her career around roles that used Salesforce.

Learning Salesforce was no easy feat; in 2010, the organization had not yet developed its learning platform called Trailhead, so Shamli was a self-taught expert. It wasn't long before Shamli went back to school to get an MBA in international business and obtain her project management certifications. The rigorous testing to become a certified project manager is not successfully completed by all who attempt it, but with Shamli's diligence, she was able to pass the test in 2014.

Studying to become an excellent project manager taught her how to see the big picture while still following a detailed process to complete IT projects within an organization. Later, she pursued a new project management methodology called the Agile Method. This was an innovative way to manage projects that differed from the traditional Waterfall Method that many project managers learn.

With her unique mix of skills, ranging from technology and business, all the way to project management, Shamli is an asset to every organization she supports. Most recently, she started working at Simplot, a large agricultural company based in Boise, Idaho. There, she's a Salesforce Application Analyst and she gets to work with all aspects of the organization to optimize and automate their processes using Salesforce.

When she first started at Simplot, she ran into a man in the hallway named Scott. Scott asked Shamli how long she had been living in Idaho, and when Shamli revealed that she had been in the state for 6 years, Scott laughed and said, "That means that you're a local now!" Shamli later found out that Scott was actually Scott Simplot, a member of the Simplot family and a leader of the organization.

Shamli is no stranger to moving to new places, learning new skills, and adapting to her environment. Moving from India to San Diego, and eventually making her way to Idaho, put her in many different situations. With each, Shamli accepted the new challenge with a smile on her face. That same tenacity shows up in her work. As she guides leaders through change, develops new processes, and teaches new tools, her foundational understanding of how difficult change can be is pivotal.

Beyond the workplace, Shamli is dedicated to helping women learn and master new technology, enter the workforce, and learn new skills. She's a natural teacher and enjoys empowering the people around her by making technical things easier to understand for non-technical people. She supports the Women's and Children's Association (WCA) of Boise, helping victims of domestic abuse become financially independent and get back on their feet. 

Though her technical knowledge and project management skills developed in a professional setting, Shamli has learned how to use them in every aspect of her life. She likes to help chart a new path forward, no matter the challenges. She's able to learn new skills quickly, teach those skills to others, and make big changes. Her current organization is lucky to have her, but even luckier is the community she lives in.

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