Beyond Celebration
By Dara Rudick, CAE — MHQ CEO
Earth Day was April 22, and the world felt heavier than it used to on this date.
With fewer laws and resources to protect our planet and its creatures, celebration didn’t come easily. What does come — if I sit with it — is something more durable than celebration. It’s the image of people who didn’t wait for conditions to improve before they showed up.
Three of those images are with me today.
- NARST: Showing up for science and community. Over 1,000 science scholars and researchers gathered recently from across the world — many traveling at genuine personal risk. One board member was fully present despite a months-long serious health challenge. Another flew in from Israel during a brief window when her airport reopened amid a ceasefire in a war she did not choose, uncertain when or whether she’d be able to return home. They came anyway. For science. For each other.
- PCAF: Doubling down when others retreat. This organization exists to support financial institutions worldwide in measuring and disclosing the greenhouse gas emissions tied to their financial activities. As regulations shift and government policy pulls back, PCAF’s signatories – hundreds of financial institutions, with dozens more joining each year – are not wavering. They are deepening their commitment.
- The wilderness that holds. On a side trip during the NARST Conference, I hiked in preserved land in the Seattle metro area — forests and trails that exist because of the sustained dedication of people who decided, long before this moment, that something worth protecting deserved their effort. Walking there felt like walking through the result of someone else’s conviction.
The Leadership Parallel
Here is what I noticed across all three: none of these people resolved the uncertainty before acting. The board member didn’t wait to be well. The Israeli colleague didn’t wait for her airport to stay open. The PCAF members aren’t waiting for a favorable policy environment. The people who protected that wilderness didn’t know if the work would hold.
They showed up inside the uncertainty. That’s the model.
The MHQ Connection
What makes it possible for leaders like these to show up fully — to direct every ounce of energy toward mission — is having the operational infrastructure handled.
Conference logistics, financial reporting, governance support, and membership systems. When those are running smoothly in the background, leaders get to do what only they can do: be present, make decisions, and carry the work forward.
That’s what MHQ exists for. Not to be the story, but to clear the way for the people who are.
In our scariest, most dire moments, we don’t find hope by waiting for conditions to change. We find it in the people and organizations already moving — already committed — already there.
Find those sources. Name them. Support them with everything you have. We are going to need them.
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/.
