What the PEAK Volunteer Experience Means to Me

Tara Havlicek has been a dedicated and deeply involved PEAK volunteer for many years, most recently as cochair of the PEAK Midwest chapter and a member of the PEAK2023 Planning Committee. On the occasion of her stepping down from her role as chapter cochair in December 2023, we invited Tara to reflect on her experiences and what PEAK volunteer service has meant to her.

I sat down to write this article and the song “The House that Built Me” by Miranda Lambert kept playing in my head. It is a country song about growth, family, memories, and finding yourself by going home again. How do I put into words how being a PEAK volunteer has impacted me for over a decade?

I loved my community psychology classes back at the University of Illinois but never could quite see how that could land me a career. After working for almost six years with Mitsubishi Electric, in human resources and administration and managing volunteer teams, I served on the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation’s board of directors and saw how I could turn a degree in psychology and years spent working in employee engagement into a job at a corporate foundation. So, in 2011, I joined the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation as a senior program specialist. Although I was passionate about disability inclusion and volunteer engagement—and excited to continue my work with Mitsubishi Electric—I was nervous at the same time. This was a major career change, and it came with some anxiety and self-doubt.

At the suggestion of my boss, I attended my first PEAK (then known as Grants Managers Network) conference in 2012 in San Antonio, Texas. It was one of those magical moments where I immediately felt like I made the right decision. I found my community. I was grateful to learn about grantmaking practices and energized to be in philanthropy. I became a member and being from the Chicago area looked for ways to connect with the Midwest region. After attending my first PEAK Midwest chapter meeting, I signed up to volunteer with the program committee. I knew I wanted to contribute to the field, the community, and my colleagues. I also wanted to continue to learn about my new career path and build my network.

The program committee worked to develop engagement opportunities that would resonate with fellow members. For example, we introduced site visits into regional meetings to understand community needs and how the foundations and our colleagues were truly making a difference. I’ll never forget being in Flint, Michigan, in 2015 and our impact tour of the city. We saw schools that had been closed and people who were in desperate need of support, but we also saw neighbors helping each other and felt pride in how the local foundations were helping the city of Flint grow and thrive in the face of adversity. Shortly thereafter, the Flint water crisis would make the news, and it was no longer just a place on the map with people I had never met—these were colleagues, friends, neighbors. It shaped the conversations I had with family and friends and the collaborations we had with our grantees across the nation. This would be one of many regional meetings that would leave a lasting impression.

I went from being part of the program committee to being PEAK Midwest’s vice chair, then cochair, and it helped me continue to hone my leadership style and improve my networking and communication skills. I was able to ensure disability inclusion was a part of diversity, equity, and inclusion conversations and provide a voice for corporate foundations.  Looking back, I am grateful for the opportunities to address big ideas and try different presentation styles knowing I could fail forward in a safe space. It increased my self-confidence, and I learned so much from the leaders before me like Genise Singleton, Joyce Holliman, Susan Clark, Kathe Elwell, Deb Debbaut, and Jenna Beltrano. We planned retreats together; we worked together to recruit more PEAK members, and we provided resources, tools, and educational programming for the region. We learned from each other: how to be better problem solvers, creative thinkers, empathetic leaders, and effective event planners. I would not be the person and leader I am today without the relationships I had with my fellow PEAK Midwest volunteer leaders.

Honestly, The Mighty Midwest community is why I kept coming back to PEAK Midwest. There are truly amazing people and foundations creating transformational change and having difficult, important conversations. It was the combination of PEAK online events and community conversations that helped me streamline processes and more effectively prioritize projects. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, my PEAK volunteer family was there for weekly check-ins. We talked work, family, fears, and dreams for the future. We cared for each other, we supported each other, we challenged each other to be the best versions of ourselves, and we gave each other a space for grace when we needed it.

Although there are many things to celebrate in my journey with PEAK, there were of course challenges along the way. Thankfully, my fellow volunteers and I all deeply value responsibility, so when we volunteer, we take it seriously. And in cochairing the chapter, it was also important to make sure there was equitable distribution of workload, accountability, and inclusive decision-making practices where all volunteers have a voice. These efforts take time and commitment but have been worth it—especially in helping us to recruit and retain volunteers. Together, we ensure that volunteering is always a team effort.

Volunteering with PEAK allowed me to test out leadership styles, strategies, and processes that would help me throughout my tenure at Mitsubishi Electric, where I now serve as the foundation’s program manager. Having opportunities to speak in front of people helped me be a better presenter and opened doors to more speaking engagements. Sharing new ideas helped me think strategically and confidently pitch ideas to senior leadership. Building my confidence allowed me to take on other volunteer roles, like being an advisor for the National Disability Mentoring Coalition. Each year I volunteered with PEAK, I learned something new, my philanthropic circle grew, and I became more comfortable in my own skin. In many ways, as I think back to that Miranda Lambert song, PEAK Grantmaking has been “The Community that Built Me.” These memories remind me of the chosen family I have and how the PEAK Community helped me find myself and chart my career path. Although I am no longer cochair of the Mighty Midwest, I know I will always be a part of this community, cheering my peers on, and learning from the amazing members and volunteer leaders. For the community that built me will always be a community I continue to build.

Click here to learn more about PEAK’s volunteer program, including current opportunities to help build our collective expertise in implementing effective, equitable grantmaking practices.