People who inspired us in 2019

People all over the world are doing incredible things with technology. Akiyoshi Shinobu, a waitress in Japan, learned Power BI and Azure Machine Learning to improve her restaurant’s dining experience. Dr. Raymond Campbell of South Africa created a mobile health clinic that screens preventable diseases with an Azure-powered backpack. Chelsey Potts, an employee at PACCAR in Ohio, is learning new skills with mixed reality. Here are the stories of some of the people who have inspired us this year.

Two people walk toward a setting sun in Africa

Dr. Raymond Campbell

South Africa

This doctor started a mobile health clinic to help people in rural communities get needed medical care.

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A woman in traditional Japanese clothing stands on a street holding an umbrella and smiling

Akiyoshi Shinobu 

Japan

She went from waiting tables to teaching herself machine learning and data visualization to digitally transform the restaurant where she worked.

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A boy sits next to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who is listening to him talk and smiling

Gerardo

Mexico

This young boy is getting cancer treatment at Casa de la Amistad, which is using Power BI and Dynamics 365 to be accountable to donors and monitor treatment effectiveness.

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A scenic and snow-covered city

Residents of Kiruna Stad 

Sweden

People here are using HoloLens to plan the relocation of their entire city, which was built on top of an iron mine.

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A woman uses a drill to work on the door frame of a large vehicle

Chelsey Potts

Ohio, U.S.

This employee and other firstline workers at PACCAR are using the power of mixed reality to learn valuable new skills.

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Man in a uniform stands in front of an Autoglass facility smiling

Martin Lee

United Kingdom

He started as a dispatcher but is now a software developer at Autoglass, where he used Power Apps to save money and make technicians’ jobs far easier.

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A volunteer wearing a Red Cross vest comforts someone at the scene of a disaster

Red Cross volunteers

U.S.

They respond where they are needed, and they use Microsoft Teams, Power Platform and other tech to focus on their core mission of alleviating human suffering.

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David Kellermann stands in partial sunlight with a slight smile

Dr. David Kellermann

Australia

This university teacher in Sydney, Australia, uses Microsoft’s platforms to connect all his students, including those in his classroom and watching online.

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A woman's hand holds a stylus and creates an intricate, shaded drawing on the screen of a Surface device

Connie Sales

North Carolina, U.S.

This visual artist brings her creativity, words and “paint” to life with the help of her Microsoft Surface.

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A woman and man smile broadly as they play a game on Xbox, the man using the Xbox adaptive controller

Michael Monthervil

Florida, U.S.

This U.S. Army veteran in Tampa Bay, Florida, uses the Xbox Adaptive Controller to speed his rehabilitation and connect with friends over video games.

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