Community Spotlight: Meet Jacob Yonkman

Meet Jacob, a Software and Compliance Engineer at Zumiez. We’re excited to dive into how he’s been using Okta, his adventures in the Okta Community, and the tips he's picked up along the way. Check out his story, and we hope you learn a few things from his experience!

Tell us a bit about yourself and your role at Zumiez.
Zumiez is a unique company that serves an eclectic community with a focus on action sports and individual lifestyles. As a Security & Compliance Engineer, I protect our people and infrastructure from threats and bad practices, with a current focus on employee identity and lifecycle automation. My day starts with saying hi to the office dogs and grabbing coffee. Then I dive into threat hunting, reporting, and building automation solutions with Okta and other tools.

How did you get involved with Okta, and what has your journey been like?
My exposure to Okta was light until about a year ago when I joined Zumiez. We were looking to make smart moves in securing and scaling the business with a focus on improving data accuracy, automating onboarding/offboarding, and moving away from legacy directory services. To make the most of Okta, I decided to join the Okta online Community. I’ve found that if you're stuck, someone else in the community has probably faced the same issue or can help turn over clues about the answer. If you don’t find a solution in the documentation, posting your question can be really helpful.

What’s your experience been with the Okta Community?

I joined about a year ago, finding it through Google and vendor support contacts making mention. What stands out to me is the separation between Questions and the Okta Ideas program. The "Ideas" section of the Community is truly under-rated brilliance, giving customers a direct line to Okta engineers and product leaders. The voting system and the progress dashboard, which tracks an idea from submission through product review to being on the roadmap and hopefully released, are fantastic. My advice is to not struggle alone. Make a post, test possible solutions, and check back for reply messages. You’ll often receive helpful replies that can move you forward. 

Any tips or insights from your experience with Okta?

There are so many valuable resources in the Okta community that it’s hard to pick a favorite. Start by checking Okta’s documentation for your topic or integration, then explore the community for additional insights. If you're still stuck, open a support case. For issues with expression language syntax, Copilot can be helpful, though initial answers may require some back-and-forth to get right. I’ve faced challenges with an Office 365 integration, and both the community and support team have been incredibly helpful. It’s been a “sometimes it works” situation, but we’re getting closer to resolving it. A key lesson learned is to always be prepared with examples like User IDs, event URLs, and log screenshots.

What are your plans for Okta certification?
I’m not certified yet, but I plan to take the Administrator exam soon. I’m excited to share that as a Community Catalyst, I received free training vouchers from the community team, which has been a great boost to my certification journey.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I’m all about family—my three young teens keep us busy. We enjoy camping, fishing, sports, books, and gaming. I love being part of Okta’s support culture and appreciate the community’s focus on helping each other succeed in real life.

Jacob’s way of using Okta and engaging with the community is truly inspiring. His tips on using community resources and tackling technical issues are super helpful. I’m excited to see him earn new Okta certifications and really appreciate him for sharing his story and being part of this spotlight!