
From Futureforce to Accessibility Advocate: Breaking Down Neurodiversity Barriers at Salesforce
Erin Lindsay
January 28, 2025
For Jóhanna Toth, a Project Analyst on the Disabilities@Work team at Salesforce, her career has been anything but linear. From a background in early education, to discovering the Futureforce program, and making the move from one EMEA Salesforce office to another, she has truly made an impact on our company.
Jóhanna’s story is an inspiring look at navigating a new career path with neurodiversity — Jóhanna has used her own life experiences to help create more inclusive and accessible spaces for others at Salesforce through her current role in the Office of Accessibility. Here, Team Futureforce sits down with Jóhanna for a chat about her career journey and how Futureforce helped her to grow and thrive in her new role.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you discovered the Futureforce program at Salesforce?
A: I studied Psychology for my Bachelor’s degree in Serbia, where I’m originally from. After graduating, I moved to Munich, Germany for my Masters, where I completed my degree in Learning Sciences.
When I first moved there, I was working as a kindergarten teacher in an inclusive nursery group for kids with all kinds of abilities. However, I’ve had to give up on that profession because of my weak immune system. I knew that I still wanted to work in a role that is more than “just a job,”and where I can truly have an impact on people around me.
Browsing job postings, I came across a role in the Office of Accessibility at Salesforce. The job description included managing and organising programs for employees with disabilities and neurodiverse conditions. Being neurodivegent myself, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to bring my personal experience and knowledge to the table.
I found out about the Futureforce program while interviewing for the position. My lovely recruiter pointed out all the resources of the program, which made me even more excited for the opportunity to be part of Salesforce and Futureforce.
“The fact that there was an extraordinarily well-designed support system by Futureforce relieved my anxiety so much about entering a company this big.”
Q: What initially attracted you to apply for the Futureforce program?
A: I had little experience and knowledge about working in the corporate world. I’ve had many student jobs before, but they all revolved around teaching, research in academia and education. The fact that there was an extraordinarily well-designed support system by Futureforce relieved my anxiety so much about entering a company this big.
The Futureforce team provides many learning opportunities where we can ask questions we might be afraid to ask somewhere else — learning about the business world, engaging directly with leaders and listening to their career journeys, workshops on public speaking, are just a few to mention.
On the other hand, we’ve had many social events as well where we could connect with our peers and spend time together. Being a Gen Z in a predominantly Millennial and Gen X environment can be an overwhelming feeling sometimes, and it’s great to get together and discuss things we’re all going through: balancing study-work-life, exams, career planning…
Q: How would you describe your time overall in Futureforce?
A: Amazing! The Futureforce program is truly great — they really look after the interns and the new grads! My only regret is that I couldn’t attend all of their events — sometimes work-life-school balance gets in the way.
It was (and still is, as I am still a proud member of Futureforce!) an invaluable learning experience. Especially since I moved to Madrid to work full-time, I get to meet my Futureforce peers regularly — it is great to know I have people around who are in the same boat. It’s a wonderful community where we all support each other in just starting our careers!
“…even outside my team, it is heartwarming to see how all employees prioritise [disability and neurodiversity inclusion] and their efforts to make sure everyone is included.”
Q: You've had the opportunity to work in two different EMEA offices. How has that experience been for you?
A: I consider myself very lucky to have experienced the Salesforce culture in two different countries with entirely different cultures overall. I am more than enthusiastic about learning new things, new perspectives, new languages.
I started my career with Salesforce in Munich. I worked there for around ten months, and moved to Madrid after my graduation. As I am neither a native German nor Spanish speaker, the encouragement from my colleagues to chat with them, whether it be work-related or during a social event, felt so rewarding! I also felt very welcomed and appreciated in both offices, so the Ohana culture definitely reaches across borders!
Q: As someone who is neurodivergent, how have you found the inclusivity at Salesforce?
A: I work in the Disabilities@Work team of the Office of Accessibility, so I have first-hand experience of many of Salesforce’s initiatives to improve Disability and Neurodiversity inclusion, and how employees can benefit from them. But even outside my team, it is heartwarming to see how all employees prioritise these topics and their efforts to make sure everyone is included.
I have dyscalculia, which leads to me getting lost frequently due to challenges with visual-spacial processing. During my onboarding, I was in the Dublin office. For those who don’t know, it’s a huge building and it’s not easy to navigate — I got lost a couple of times. However, when I shared this with the onboarding team, they were more than happy to escort me to the kitchen, exits, and toilets and made sure I felt comfortable and not overwhelmed by having to move around the office. It was truly an amazing first impression of the hospitality at Salesforce.
Salesforce offers many supports and resources (for neurodiversity). For example, there’s a Neurodiversity Job Coaching program. It is meant for employees who identify as neurodivergent (ND), or people managers who want to support their diverse team. We also organise global and local events, like the Neurodiversity Celebration Week in March or enablement sessions for People Leaders, Recruiters, and employees on ND topics.
Q: What advice would you give to someone considering applying to the Futureforce program?
A: Be yourself, be curious, and be open to learning! Salesforce is a dynamic, fast-paced environment and it’s a great place for young people to work. I guarantee you will never be bored here even for a second! No two days look the same, the office is always buzzing, and there are plenty of opportunities to work hard and also enjoy social connections at the same time.
Research Salesforce and Futureforce, learn about the company culture, what we do, and especially what the org you want to join is doing. Think about what you can bring to the table and how you can make our culture even more colourful by being your authentic self.
Q: How can future applicants make the most out of their experience if they join Salesforce?
A: Network, network, network — don’t be afraid of networking! Being an introvert and coming from a background where I have worked “lonely” jobs, (sitting alone in a lab analyzing data), this seemed so scary to me at first. But networking is really all about putting yourself out there and being genuinely curious about other people. Join those Futureforce activities, go to Lunch’n’Learns and social events, talk to people, learn about them and their perspectives!
Q: What are your future career aspirations, and how do you see Salesforce playing a role in achieving them?
A: Of course you can never know what life has in store for you, but I hope I can stay here for a long time. I definitely see myself working in Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. I really enjoy my current role and I have an amazing team, so I am hoping I can develop professionally while staying with them. Our field of work is so complex that I could spend years learning and doing different things, and still not run out of skills to develop. Coming from a Psychology/ Learning Sciences background, I am also very curious about Enablement — designing external and/ or internal courses on DEI topics. I am yet to see what the future holds, but I know that Salesforce plays a precious and crucial role in my career. I’m at a great place now, and I couldn’t be more excited to grow in my professional life every day!
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