Lia grimanis biography

Her work in the homelessness sector is informed by lived experience as an abuse survivor and formerly homeless autistic teen.
Lia Grimanis is that rare individual.
Lia Grimanis founded Up with Women, a non-profit organization dedicated to bridging the gap from homelessness and deep poverty to economic and social.

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Lia Grimanis

Lia Grimanis comes from 13 years of non-profit leadership, following 13 years of managing complex projects in the technology sector. Her work in the homelessness sector is informed by lived experience as an abuse survivor and formerly homeless autistic teen. A high-school dropout, she climbed the corporate ladder to later become Regional Head of Financial Services, Americas for a division of the global technology firm TIBCO. She now manages Up With Women's career program fulltime. Prior to creating and building Up With Women, Lia founded the non-profit the Mighty Lola Ballsy Girls Arts Fund, which provided grants to female artists doing cutting-edge work. She is also a co-founder of Social Venture Partners Toronto, an organization that blends the power of business with the passion of philanthropy to assist grassroots organizations that are focused on poverty reduction. On a civic level, she has served on the Toronto Mayor's Communications Advisory team as a Public Relations Strategist and Speechwriter.

In 2011, Financial Post Magazine listed her as one of Canada's 1

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Up With Women employs coaching to lift at-risk women out of poverty

When Veryl Obodi arrived in Canada from Kenya as a refugee in June 2019 with no money and no family to rely on, she believed her education and experience would help her get a good job. Instead, she ended up living at the YWCA homeless shelter in Toronto and working as a cleaner.

Obodi was shocked to learn that her undergraduate degree in Tourism, a master’s in Natural Resources Management and 10 years of experience in project management in conservation, private, intergovernmental and not-for-profit sectors, wasn’t enough to secure a job in her field.

Everywhere Obodi applied, she was told her international degrees weren’t recognized. Even after she enrolled in the School of Continuing Studies at the University of Toronto and had her credentials certified, she consistently heard that she needed Canadian experience, but no one suggested how she could get some. “That alone was one of my biggest barriers,” she says. (Late last year, the Ontario government announced it would introduce legislation banning the use o

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The Intuitively Aligned Podcast with Sydney

In this episode of The Intuitively Aligned Podcast, Lia Grimanis takes us on a remarkable journey through her life, sharing experiences that define resilience, innovation, and the pursuit of joy.

You’ll hear how as a homeless teenager, Lia made a promise to herself on a shelter bed that would change her life forever.

Lia is one of Canada’s 100 most powerful women and she is the visionary leader who founded "Up With Women," an organization that provides coaching and holistic support to empower women and gender-diverse individuals. Through this organization, Lia helps people break free from the cycle of poverty and chart sustainable pathways to success.

Lia is also a two-time Guinness World Record holder for “Heaviest Vehicle Pulled 100ft By a Woman” and “Heaviest Vehicle Pulled in High Heels”. She was also the first woman in the world to attempt to pull a jet airplane for a Guinness World Record!

Lia's story is not just about inner strength and triumphing over adversity; it's about embracing neurodiversity and tapping in