MEET FOUNDER & CEO LIA GRIMANIS

Lia Grimanis turned her lived experiences of violence and homelessness into a mission: to help women and gender-diverse people rise from adversity.

For Lia Grimanis, the mission of Up With Women/Exponenti’elles is personal.

At just 16 years old, Lia found herself navigating homelessness after her grandmother — her primary caregiver — passed away. Fleeing violence and abuse at the hands of her remaining family members, Lia spent countless nights couch surfing. Her challenges were only compounded by late-diagnosed autism, which made it harder to recognize escalating violence or danger until it was too late.

After a family member threatened to kill her, Lia called a hotline and was directed to a shelter for survivors of violence. Initially overwhelmed and struggling with thoughts of suicide, she made a promise to herself while lying on her shelter bed: to one day help other women in her position rebuild their lives.

She quickly set to work.

Though she left high school before graduating, Lia’s determination and tenacity propelled her into a successful career in the corporate world. While working in a senior leadership role at a billion-dollar tech company, she gained access to a coach — a turning point that sparked the idea for Up With Women/Exponenti’elles.

Inspired to break down barriers to coaching for women who need it most, Lia founded UWW/EXP in 2009 — fulfilling the promise she made to her teenage self. Providing a year of free, high-quality coaching and wraparound supports to women experiencing poverty and homelessness, the UWW/EXP model has been shown to increase full-time employment among clients by an incredible 350% (based on a 2024 internal evaluation).

Lia has been featured widely across major national and international media outlets. Her editorial coverage includes Chatelaine, Forbes, The Financial Post, The New York Times, The Toronto Star, and The Toronto Sun, among others. Television and broadcast appearances span CBC, Citytv, CNN, Discovery Channel, Global News, and The Today Show, where she has shared her insights on gendered poverty with diverse audiences.

She has also spoken on major global stages, including presenting at the International World Leadership Conference, where her powerful oration earned a standing ovation.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Lia also holds Guinness World Records for Heaviest Vehicle Pulled by a Woman (2014, 18,000 lbs) and Heaviest Vehicle Pulled in High Heels (2014, 15,000 lbs) — both feats she pursued to send a message to survivors that “we’re stronger than we think” while drawing attention to the issue of gendered homelessness, violence and poverty.