Gloria H. Mensah, MBA

Gloria’s leadership on our advisory board is instrumental in guiding our strategic direction.

Bio

Gloria Mensah is currently the Founder and Executive Director of GK Folks Foundation, a serial entrepreneur, and coach. Mensah is key in organizing and bringing together the People of Afro descent community in Utah.

Over the last 10 years, she has organized and empowered young individuals of Afro descent to be proud of who they are, showcase their culture, promote their platform, and gain scholarships in the process. In 2009, She transferred out of college in Hawaii to attend Utah Valley University. While there, she sought to support individuals of Afro descent, including immigrants and refugees, by paving a way for them to showcase their culture, realize their individual potential, and gain access to a variety of resources necessary to propel their dreams and bring their goals to fruition.

Mensah enjoys empowering women in the community. Acknowledging the paucity of women within the exercise of leadership, she seeks to support women in their journey to become leaders in their place of work while simultaneously playing their part as active and involved community members.

To delve into her passion, Mensah established a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit organization called GK Folks Foundation. This foundation is focused on providing educational, entrepreneurship, and mental health resources/opportunities for individuals of Afro descent (including youth and emerging scholars) and refugees to become catalysts for change. GK Folks Foundation empowers marginalized women by providing life-changing workshops that allow them to learn from and shadow successful leaders and gain leadership skills.

The foundation also inspires women to build confidence, find and project their voices, promote their passion, and showcase their culture and pride. Her effort with the foundation creates a space for women to develop skills needed to become community leaders. Many of the women who have passed through the foundation's programs have gone on to start their own nonprofits and/or serve within critical leadership roles within their respective communities.

Mensah organizes Miss Africa Utah, Miss Africa Idaho, Miss Africa Arizona, and Miss Africa Nevada. These cultural educational scholarship pageants give young individuals of Afro descent the opportunity to share with others their culture and their pride.