Life & Work with Dakota Speaker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dakota Speaker.

Hi Dakota, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Originally, I am from Canada – Brampton, Ontario to be exact. I like to share this because I think it provides more depth and perspective to who I am as a person and what experiences have shaped me. While I am not an Arizona native, I have lived here for the past 17 years – raised from a young age to completing my bachelor’s degree at Northern Arizona University. I have a deep love and admiration for Arizona, its beauty, its history, and its people.

While attending NAU and studying for my degree in Criminal Justice I knew that I wanted to give back to my community, but not in the traditional sense like being a police office, lawyer, etc. (not to say that those occupations are not of value – which they are!). It wasn’t until one of my professors had encouraged me to participate in a silent protest, protesting the high rates of prison overcrowding, that I realized there were other ways that I could positively impact my community.

I started working at a local nonprofit providing direct services and basic needs to single-parent families battling cancer. This then led me to work at a Boys and Girls Club where I taught a Cooking Class, as well as facilitated a Character and Wellbeing Development program for teen girls. Working with the teens and youth brought me so much joy, and made me realize that I, personally, could make an impact in my community through my everyday actions.

I now work for a Community Foundation where I get to be part of positively impacting my community on a larger scale. While I miss directly working with teens and youth, I still find joy in my personal life through volunteering.

My ultimate goal is to help children and youth succeed by becoming more involved in their communities. To me, being part of your community means so much. It means clean and shaded parks, quality affordable food, educational opportunity, environmental quality, community safety, access to care, and so much more. It means us all contributing to creating and building a healthy and resilient community for all Arizonans to thrive.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily been a smooth road, as I have overcome many obstacles in my life, both personally and professionally. I was raised by a strong and resilient single mother who made many sacrifices, but who also loved me whole heartedly and taught me the value of hard work, integrity, and resilience. To this day, I still find myself experiencing struggles in different aspects of my life, some as simple as feeling comfortable and confident to advocate for myself. But, I also like to think that my greatest challenges are also my greatest opportunities to grow. I am someone that learns from doing and practice, so I naturally tend to find the silver lining in every situation. There is always something to be grateful for and always a lesson to learn. I am stronger and more resilient through the adversity I face.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Philanthropic Advisor with the Arizona Community Foundation. In a nutshell, I help connect donors with causes and nonprofits that they are passionate about supporting. I mainly work with individual donors, but we also work with nonprofits, corporations, and help support professional advisors as they support their clients. My favorite part about my job is that I get to learn what is going on in our community to help our donors give strategically and make the most impact with their charitable dollars.

Although I have been with ACF for over 3 years, I am still quite new to my role as a Philanthropic Advisor. Throughout the years I have supported the organization in many ways, but I am most proud of my work in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. For the last year and a half, I have co-chaired ACF’s DEI Committee – leading racial equity training, launching initiatives to normalize race-explicit (but not exclusive) conversations, and operationalizing DEI to ensure our organization’s policies and practices are equitable.

Through this work, I have come to realize that change is not made by simply stating you want to make a change. It is made through small steps that each person takes responsibility for in achieving the larger goal. Taking on this role was a huge challenge for me, as I had no formal leadership training, or experience in leading a DEI Committee. But through this experience, I was able to feel more comfortable speaking in public and taking on challenging tasks. I was also able to further developed my leadership and facilitation skills. I am so grateful to work for an organization that allows me to lead in a way that not only makes our workplace more inclusive, but also offers the opportunity to make Arizona a better place for everyone.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for the most amazing support system and people in my life that lift me up. I have an amazing husband, friends, family, and coworkers that relentlessly support, encourage, praise, and guide me. Some notable mentions are Lisa Stratton, Lisa Dancsok, Kim Covington, and Joy Klein. I am so honored to know and learn from these women, and to be able to work with them. They are inspiring, driven, and challenge me to be the same.

I’d also like to thank my CEO, Steve Seleznow, who never ceases believing in me or my capability. As someone who started in an administrative position, I know firsthand how difficult it can be to show the value that you bring to your organization, highlight your transferrable skills, or manage-up. He taught me that you don’t need to be the CEO or be in a leadership position to be a leader. That you can lead from where you are. This advice inspired me to not just wait until I am a CEO or in a different position to lead. That I can start leading from where I am now.

Lastly, I’d like to thank Valley Leadership for their thoughtful, thorough, and robust training. Earlier this year, I graduated from their Ready Together Program, which was a program designed to allow Arizonans the space to process the issues further exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, prepare for our collective new reality, and the opportunity to help solve those issues. Through this program, I was able to expand my perspective and knowledge regarding Arizona’s most pressing needs, and build my leadership skills, both personally and professionally.

Contact Info:

• Email: dspeaker@azfoundation.org
• Website: https://www.azfoundation.org/