I'm excited to announce that Salesforce has been named one of the Best Places to Work in the Greater Washington Area by the Washington Business Journal.

In 2013, I joined Salesforce to lead the North American Public Sector team. Over the last six years, our teams have not only expanded in Herndon and Reston, but we've also expanded our sales and marketing efforts globally. Throughout our growth, our culture has remained consistent and strong.

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to work with amazing teams who are not only dedicated in the office, but who are equally as passionate about improving the local communities in which we do business. Last year, our team completed over 16,000 hours of volunteering throughout the D.C. area. Through Salesforce's 1-1-1 Philanthropic Model, we've raised money for Loudoun County School System, packed thousands of meals for the Backpack Food Program, and partnered with customers to clean up the Potomac River.

As members of the Greater Washington D.C. business community, we realized that we could make a significant difference in our communities, especially in the lives of children, with the resources and skills we have at Salesforce. We've adopted several local schools apart of Salesforce's Future Ready initiative. Local program highlights include:

• Our work with students at Sugarland Elementary, helping them earn 2nd place in a county-wide robotics competition.
• Our team hosted a K-8 Junior-Achievement-in-a-day at Clearview Elementary during which we took over the school and mentored kids in the “I Can” curriculum.
• We provided backpacks for students at Herndon Elementary to be sure kids had what they needed to start the school year right.

I didn't think anything would be able to top our celebration of the Washington Capital's Stanley Cup victory, but I was wrong. Thus far, participating in “Bring Your Kids to Work Day” was a shining highlight for our hub. We hosted 50 children for a full day of activities. Watching employees speak with passion about why they love about their jobs with these future Trailblazers was an incredible moment. We told them about different career paths, how our team and software helps the government, and how much we value workforce diversity. I loved when the kids were asked, “what do you think your parents do at work?” One replied, “they build apps,” another said, “they sell software.” Of course, there's always one who's brutally honest: “they talk on the phone.”

Looking ahead, we're going to keep doing what has made us so successful; working together as one Ohana (the Hawaiian word for family) focused on our helping our customers and partners succeed, and in our communities to help make the world a better place. I'm proud we've been recognized by the Washington Business Journal as one of the area's best places to work, and I'm even prouder of the contributions our employees make every day.

Interested in joining our teams in Herndon and Reston? Check out opportunities at salesforce.com/careers.