Affinaquest Staff Spotlight: Hannah Falgout, Director of Solutions Engineering

What do you do in your role at Affinaquest?

I am a Solutions Engineer at Affinaquest. In this role, I provide technical skills to configure demonstration scenarios that allow us to explore with potential clients the future of their configured Advancement CRM system. It allows us to provide a glimpse of what idealized business processes and a strong data management strategy would look like for them.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

The thing that I enjoy most about my role is when I get to take a difficult configuration request and figure out how to realize it within Advancement RM. It’s like solving a puzzle, and I enjoy finding an elegant solution to a complicated problem.

Tell us about your professional journey. How did you end up at Affinaquest?

I started my professional journey as a full-stack, software developer for an e-procurement SAAS solution – I know, very interesting. When I went to work for a nonprofit called Rise Against Hunger I transitioned to specializing in Salesforce administration and development, and have been working with the platform ever since. I’ve helped to manage and grow several different Salesforce orgs in the nonprofit and educational sphere. When moving to Affinaquest, I was able to bring years of Salesforce knowledge to a team of career advancement professionals.

What makes you proud to work at Affinaquest?

I’m proud to work with my team at Affinaquest, and I’m proud of the work we are able to create together. It really is a team effort to produce and deliver compelling demos, and I hold the innovative solutions we are able to create as a testament to that effort. The best solutions I’ve built have all been born out of collaboration with my colleagues. 

What is your alma mater? Were you a college athlete?

I’m an alum of Appalachian State University. I graduated with a BSBA in international business, a BS in computer science, and minors in Mandarin Chinese and anthropology. I actually met my partner there in my database class. While at ASU I was the starting keeper – that’s the position that guards the goalposts – on our school’s quidditch team my freshman and sophomore years – um, so yes, I was a college athlete, although I try not to brag.

What’s the most exciting thing you are working on right now?

Right now one of my side projects is building out a series of strategies for each major role in an advancement shop and using Salesforce Next Best Action and Flow Builder to create a series of automations around those strategies. I’m excited to be able to show a great example of how Advancement RM and Salesforce native tools can be used to enhance the experience and efficiency of the platform. 

When you aren’t working, how do you like to spend your time?

I’m a big fan of the phrase work hard, play hard. So when I’m not working, I like to stay busy. I do quite a bit of cooking, and crafting – crochet, stained glass, shoemaking, cross-stitch, etc. I also enjoy being in nature growing things, camping and backpacking, or whitewater rafting with my mom.

What is your favorite quote?

I really love the quote, “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem,” from Captain Jack Sparrow. I feel that so often this is the case, and it’s why keeping a good attitude can make such a difference, especially in difficult situations.