About Us
Losing a spouse doesn't just mean losing a person. It means losing a partner, a shared future, and inheriting a calendar full of days that used to feel like celebrations and now just feel like weight.
MAP: Moving Ahead Purposefully was built for exactly that reality.
We are a nonprofit that believes grief doesn’t have to be the last stop. Through travel, community, and renewed hope, we help widowed individuals find their footing again.
We serve widows and widowers through four programs:
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Destination: We take them on the trip they planned with their spouse and never got to take. The Paris they kept putting off, the safari penciled in for retirement, the anniversary cruise that never happened.
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Waypoint: Travel escapes built around the hardest days on the calendar. The birthdays, the anniversaries, the holidays that arrive every year whether you're ready or not.
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Navigation: Small group trips exclusively for the widowed. Just people who genuinely understand what the others are carrying, traveling together and moving forward into a new season of life.
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Compass: Retreats in beautiful locations. A place to rest, reconnect, find your bearings, and begin to chart a new course. Or simply get through the day.
MAP doesn't ask the widowed to move on.
We ask them to move ahead purposefully, bravely, and with people who get it.
Meet our board
MAP exists because grief needs more than good intentions. It needs people willing to show up, do the work, and build something that lasts.
Our board brings together the experience, care, and follow-through it takes to turn that mission into reality. Each member has a hand in shaping how MAP serves the widowed, from the programs we run to the way we steward every gift we're given.
They believe that moving ahead purposefully takes both heart and structure.
Founder & President
Susan Dack
Susan founded MAP believing that no one should have to carry grief alone, and that even the hardest seasons of life can hold room for healing. The idea took root watching the Disney movie UP, struck by how many real people never get to take the trip they saved for with a spouse. That calling was sharpened through her years as a travel agency owner and small group trip leader, walking alongside the widowed and watching them find healing through travel, while realizing just how often that opportunity was out of reach, whether the cost was too high or the thought of going alone was too much.
Susan brings empathy, compassion, and hard-earned experience to the work of building MAP well, and she is honored to help create a place where the widowed can move ahead purposefully, bravely, and surrounded by people who understand.
Vice President
MiKayla Kuhlman
MiKayla believes everyone has a story worth telling. She is driven by a deep commitment to helping individuals feel seen, heard, and valued— whether through their own voices, photos, travel experiences, or cherished memories.
With an undergraduate degree in counseling, she brings a compassionate, curiosity-led approach to every interaction. MiKayla is passionate about asking meaningful questions, listening with intention, and learning from the diverse life stories of others. She is excited to contribute to a mission that uplifts voices, fosters connection, and creates space for every person to be truly understood.
Secretary
Bonnie Bilheimer
Bonnie is an avid reader, a mom of three boys, and a seasoned businesswoman who works with older adults on a regular basis. A former mortician with grief counseling training, she now moderates a dementia support group, bringing steady, compassionate support to families in some of life's hardest moments. Her deep experience in the nonprofit world means she comes to MAP's board with a wealth of knowledge, thoughtful questions, and hands-on know-how, exactly what this growing organization needs to become the best it can be.