At the start of a new year,Brian Owens decided to set a resolution to change his life. Feeling exhausted mentally and physically from working 12 hour days between two jobs with student loans to pay off, he began looking for something where he could have a sense of fulfillment. He needed a life raft.

Brian’s wife introduced him toTrailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform, where he quickly began learning new skills. With Trailhead, Brian learned at his own pace at any time, which included waking up extra early to study before work. He was also dedicated to finding a mentor for guidance and support. This led him to connect with Tiffany Spencer, the founder of Tech Forward, an organization that introduces marginalized communities to Salesforce careers. With Tiffany's help, Brian was able to chart a course toward a career in Salesforce and navigate the tech industry.

After earning hisSalesforce Administrator certification and connecting with people on a similar journey in theTrailblazer Community, Brian felt ready to embark on a new career path in tech. With his new Salesforce expertise, Brian landed his first Salesforce role, where hespearheaded the implementation ofFinancial Services Cloud for Regions Bank. Today, Brian is thriving as a product manager at NBCUniversal, where heplayed a pivotal role in introducing a groundbreaking multi-currency system for a partnership with Apple News, marking a significant milestone for the company. He also contributed to organizational consolidations within NBCUniversal's national, local, and global ad sales teams, aligning them with the company's unified platform selling vision.