Resilience
By Dara Rudick, CAE — MHQ CEO
At dinner on Sunday night, my 82‑year‑old mother casually mentioned that she had joined the peaceful demonstrators at a Minnesota federal detention center last week, standing before masked, heavily armed federal immigration enforcement officers.
Last Friday, tens of thousands of Minnesotans gathered in downtown Minneapolis—despite the -17°F temperatures—in peaceful protest. Our city and our nation are navigating something unprecedented in our lifetimes.
I share this not to make a political statement, but to acknowledge what many of us already know: our community is changed. Some celebrate these federal immigration enforcement actions. Others find them devastating. Nearly everyone I know has been touched by them in some way—whether through direct impact, witnessing neighbors in fear, or simply carrying the weight of what’s unfolding around us.
Resilience in Real Time
I’ve watched our Minneapolis community demonstrate what resilience truly looks like: not the absence of fear or disagreement, but the presence of courage, compassion, and commitment to showing up for one another. Meet Minneapolis provides FAQs that speak to the facts of the moment and our city’s response.
I see this same resilience daily within the MHQ team. I am profoundly grateful for the strength it takes for each team member to show up during this time, and they’re doing far more than that. Even after the tragic events of this past Saturday, I’ve received daily messages from our team sharing creative ways we can best serve our clients. They are demonstrating levels of resilience we could not have imagined we would need, staying laser-focused on ensuring that our clients thrive.
This is the resilience MHQ has chosen as our theme for 2026. Not because we anticipated needing it quite like this, but because this is what association management requires, always.
And yet, amid this, something remarkable is happening.
What This Means for Professional Communities
Our associations matter in moments like these.
When the world feels fractured, our professional communities become anchors. When members are distracted or divided by larger events, associations provide focus and purpose. When principles are tested, the communities we lead offer space to remember shared missions and values.
The work of public and non-profit leaders —convening people around common purpose, advancing fields of knowledge, creating belonging—doesn’t pause during societal upheaval. If anything, it becomes more essential.
Leading through uncertainty asks more of us. It asks us to hold space for diverse perspectives within our communities, even when those perspectives conflict with our own. It requires us to maintain organizational focus when our members’ attention is fragmented by events beyond our control. It means making decisions with incomplete information, communicating with clarity when there are no clear answers, and leading with integrity when the path forward isn’t obvious.
MHQ’s Commitment
We’re watching our community demonstrate that resilience is both individual—one 82‑year‑old woman deciding what she stands for—and collective—tens of thousands gathering in subzero temperatures for what they believe.We’re learning from it. We’re embodying it. And we’re bringing it to our work with you.
Whatever challenges your association faces this year, whether related to these national events or countless other pressures you’re navigating, we’re here. Focused, creative, and committed to your success.
That’s what resilience looks like in association management. And that’s what you can count on from MHQ in 2026.
This kind of leadership is exhausting. It’s also exactly what resilience looks like at the organizational level—and it mirrors what we’re all doing individually.
About MHQ
Driven by the vision of a thriving, vibrant community, MHQ is a woman-owned, world-class management company that delivers customized services. Founded in 2013, MHQ has provided association management services since its inception, as well as infrastructure to organizations in a range of industries. We serve professional and trade associations, as well as government and public sector entities. For more about MHQ, visit https://www.management-hq.com/.
