In 1998, after studying at Dalhousie University, Glori came to Edmonton and founded the full-service marketing agency g[squared]. Glori has been named a Women of Inspiration by the Universal Women’s Network and was a Woman of Worth Honouree by L’Oreal Paris Canada in 2020. She was also named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network and one of the Top 40 Canadians Under 40 by Caldwell Partners International, and in 2022 was honoured with the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee and the Meritorious Service Decoration in 2020. Glori is also a proud member of YPO’s Alberta Chapter.
As a survivor of child sexual abuse, Glori has also endured unspeakable trauma. Recently, a struggle with stage 3 cervical cancer brought her life to a halt. She began a journey of rediscovering her faith, practicing self-love and focusing on her mental health. She has discovered resiliency, love and hope by being a voice for vulnerable children, and by advocating for social change in the business and non-profit communities. Glori leads her life from a place of love, not fear.
Glori donates a portion of her speaking fees to Little Warriors.
Little Warriors is an Alberta-based national charitable organization focused on the awareness, prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse. It also advocates on behalf of and with child sexual abuse survivors.
Little Warriors offers a treatment facility to help children with the devastating effects of child sexual abuse, and provide child sexual abuse prevention strategies to adults – all while ensuring the rights, needs and interests of children are respected and protected.
The Be Brave Ranch treatment program is based on intensive episodes of treatment. It supports healing using evidence-informed clinical interventions, including TF-CBT (Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), DBT (Dialectical Behavioral) informed interventions, Expressive Therapies (Art, Psychodrama, etc.), Somatic Therapeutic Interventions, Indigenous Elder teachings, Animal-Assisted Therapy, EMDR, Music Therapy, Group Therapy, Family Therapy and Individual Therapy.
The treatment for the children 8-12 begins with a 28-day stay at the ranch and, for girls age 13-16, a 12-day stay. During their initial intensive intervention, children are placed in a peer group or “cohort,” which creates strong bonds and encourages support. Throughout the year, children return to the ranch for three additional 12-day intensive interventions to continue their face-to-face therapy and reconnect with their cohort. Between stays, children work with the clinical team on an outpatient basis and in collaboration with their community.
None of this would have been possible without Glori’s dedication, perseverance and passion.
In 2012, Glori secured a partnership with researchers at the University of Alberta. This partnership developed a workshop called Prevent It!, which teaches adults to respond to child sexual abuse. It also helped develop the multi-modal, evidence-based trauma therapy program that the Little Warriors Be Brave Ranch now offers.
Prevent It! was launched in early 2015. Research shows it significantly improves attitudes, knowledge and behaviour. This workshop, unique in Canada, was developed using research-informed methods and evaluated with scientific rigour. It has educated over 30,000 adults across Canada.
In October 2014, Glori completed her vision and dream. After years of fundraising, the Little Warriors Be Brave Ranch opened its doors, welcoming its first cohort of children. Located east of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the ranch is the first treatment centre of its kind in the world.
Since then, over 300 children have attended the program. Clinical data confirm the success of the Be Brave Ranch treatment program, including highly significant reductions in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety. Additionally, the intensive and comprehensive program significantly improves self-esteem, cognitive abilities and resiliency. With these results, the children also experience:
This would not have been possible without Glori breaking new ground to raise the bar on awareness, prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse.
