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After eleven years, I’m no longer a Microsoft Data Platform MVP 💙

This was expected, as I have been gradually distancing myself from the community for a couple of years already. But it’s still strange to actually receive the email saying “Your Microsoft MVP Annual Review application is declined”. Being an MVP has been such a big part of my life and identity for over a decade, of course it’s a little sad to say goodbye.

I will look back at this chapter with pride and joy. From organizing the first-ever SQLSaturday Oslo wearing a bright pink shirt, to becoming the first SQL Server MVP and the first woman MVP in Norway, watching the data and MVP community grow, supporting and cheering on others as they rose up to fame and glory, to finally ending my MVP chapter with a successful Fabric February trilogy.

Yeah, I feel like I’ve deserved to step back and just… enjoy life.

A life with my loved ones, where work is work and not my entire identity. A life where I can rediscover my hobbies and find out what I enjoy doing outside of prepping demos and building slide decks. Agility with Pixel. Exploring the world with the love of my life. Gaming with friends and family. Reading books, coloring, jigsaw puzzles, maybe even enjoy web design for fun again? I’m excited for the pressure to perform to be gone, for not feeling like I constantly have to stay on top of news and updates, for being able to spend my energy on my coworkers without feeling guilty that I’m not also sharing my experiences with the community.

(And if I’m completely honest, I’m relieved I won’t have to pretend to be excited about the AI-everything world that Microsoft is trying to sell. I enjoyed being part of the community when Microsoft moved from their villain era under Ballmer to their DEI and open source era under Nadella, and I’m quite ok with stepping away from my role as an unpaid influencer now that Microsoft is descending back into their next villAIn era… 🤫)

Now it’s time for me to figure out how to live my life and introduce myself as just Cathrine.

But first, I’m going to chillax during my summer vacation 😎

See you at Fabric Conference Europe in Barcelona? 🤓

Three years ago, during the summer of 2023, the name Fabric February popped into my head for the first time. Today, I’m saying goodbye to it 💚

(Special shoutout to the amazing Emilie for knitting these Fabric February scarves! 🧣)

I’m so incredibly proud of what we’ve built and accomplished. Countless hours of volunteering culminated in three amazing events that brought the Microsoft Fabric and Power BI community together to network, learn, and have fun right here in Oslo, Norway.

Who’d have thought that the first Fabric-focused community event would be held in the freezing north, a month before Microsoft’s own Fabric Conference? Well, we did. And we believed in it. So we made it happen, watched the community embrace it, and then we worked hard to help it grow:

Fabric February 2024

• 400+ attendees
• 1 pre-conference workshop
• 37 speakers delivering 22 sessions and 6 lightning talks across 4 parallel tracks at the main event
• 3 post-conference workshops
• Lots of snæcks!

Fabric February 2025

• 650+ attendees
• 1 pre-conference workshop
• 49 speakers delivering 37 sessions and 9 lightning talks across 7 parallel tracks at the main event
• 3 post-conference workshops
• More snæcks!

Fabric February 2026

• 700+ attendees
• 3 pre-conference workshops
• 37 speakers delivering 42 sessions across 7 parallel tracks at the main event
• 4 post-conference workshops
• Unlimited snæcks!

Thank you!

The best feeling has been watching our ideas come to life, take flight, and grow into attendee experiences and memories. Whole departments, teams, and even companies have met up across cities and countries. Attendees have been able to meet the speakers and bloggers who helped shape their careers. And we’ve seen many new people become speakers and get involved in the data community.

I’m so thankful for everyone who supported us along the way and helped make Fabric February a true community event for everyone! 😍

…and goodbye 💚

It’s been three amazing years that I will remember and treasure forever, but now it’s time to say goodbye and step away from my role as a Fabric February organizer.

I’m looking forward to having more time and energy for my hobbies, friends, and family, especially my four-legged fur baby and two-legged love of my life 🥰

(Oh yeah, and I’ll probably find time to enjoy some #SNÆCKS as well 🍿)

On July 10th, I received my 10th MVP Award! 🤩 I became a Microsoft Data Platform MVP 2024-2025 in the Data Integration and Microsoft Fabric technology areas 🤓

(My puppy, Pixel, couldn’t care less. But she’s really cute! So I decided to pose with her instead of a piece of MVP swag 😁)

10 years. Ten. Years. Holy moly. I still remember the thrill and panic of receiving my first MVP Award. Back then, I felt like I didn’t really deserve an award. I saw myself as a shy nobody, definitely not a most valuable professional! But I was also proud and extremely grateful to be recognized for what I had done for my local community.

I’m no longer shy and I no longer think I’m a nobody, but I’m still extremely grateful for the recognition. I don’t take it for granted, even after 10 years. Or perhaps I should say especially not after 10 years, because a Microsoft MVP award doesn’t come for free. It takes time, energy, sometimes money, and occasionally some literal sweat and tears. (Hopefully not a lot of blood, though!)

In return, the stamp of approval from Microsoft has opened doors and opportunities I could only have dreamed of. I’ve forged a career I love, found some of my best friends, helped countless people in their daily jobs, and inspired others. Most importantly, I’ve grown so much as a person through this journey.

What’s next?

Over the past 10 years, tech and community has been my life. I’ve called myself a full-time geek, working with Microsoft tech during the day and having fun speaking, blogging, volunteering, and organizing community events focused on Microsoft tech in my free time. It’s been fun trying to explain to those outside of our community bubble that yes, I’m doing this techy thing, but no, it’s not work, but it’s technically what I work with, but it’s also my hobby, and… you get the point 😂

I’ve loved it. It’s been a helluva ride.

But you see that cute little teddy bear in the picture? Pixel? She is the most important thing in my life now. I’ve been dreaming of and longing for a pet for 15 years. It was just never the right time… until this year. Pixel has made my life so. much. better. I love her with all my heart 🥰

I’m not stepping away from the community, but maybe like… a step to the side? There are still events I won’t miss, knowledge I want to share, and people around the world I might be able to help in some way. But tech and community won’t be my entire life going forward. And I think that’s a good thing. It feels right.

See you soon, somewhere 💙

On Monday, April 15th, 2024, I will be speaking alongside Scott Sewell at Microsoft BI Professionals Denmark (MsBIP) 🥳

Scott will be talking about the topics closest to his heart: Dynamics 365 and Dataverse, and their integration into Microsoft Fabric. I’m actually really excited that I get to attend his talk, because one of my clients are getting close to migrating from Synapse, Synapse Link for Dataverse and Power BI into Fabric! 🤩

And I will be talking about the topics closest to my heart: Data Factory in Fabric 🥰 Read more about our topics below.

My awesome coworkers in Evidi Denmark are hosting the meeting in the AI Innovation House in Vejle. We’ll be hanging out in Quantum, a really cool 360° room! 🤯 I’m excited to hang out with my team during the day, and meeting the community during the evening. This is going to be a great day!

You can find all the information on the MsBIP page for Meeting #82. I hope you were able to sign up and that I get to meet you there!

On Tuesday, October 10th, 2023, I will be speaking at AdaCon 2023 🥳

The amazing Patricia Aas started the Ada Lovelace Day mini-conference in 2019. Back then, there were a few large Women In Tech groups and events in Norway, but they mainly celebrated women in management and leadership positions in tech-focused companies. Patricia wanted to celebrate Women doing Tech, and created the mini-conference to give coders, developers, engineers and everyone else working hands-on with tech an arena to share their knowledge. This year, the event has been rebranded to AdaCon and expanded to celebrate all groups that are underrepresented in tech 👏🏻

I will be presenting a session called Website Analytics in My Pocket using Microsoft Fabric. This is a brand new session, and I’m super excited to finally be able to play around with Power BI! 🤓

You can find the schedule and full agenda on the AdaCon website. This is going to be an important and inspiring day full of learning, so I hope to see you there! 💙