Influential Woman · NonProfit
Kari Cook
Founder & President, Glorietta Klarich Foundation
Knoxville, TN
Her Story
About Kari
Kari Cook is the Founder and President of the Glorietta Klarich Foundation. With approximately 22 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, she came straight out of college into the field and later pursued a mental health degree after initially considering nursing. Motivated by the intergenerational cycles of trauma she observed in case management and social work, she founded the organization following the passing of her role model Glo in January. The foundation aims to provide every child with their own instrument as a tool for building resilience, regulation, and confidence alongside trauma therapy. Kari attributes her success to Glo’s unwavering support and has pushed herself to launch the nonprofit quickly after her passing. She has already secured three awards and a feature in Knoxville Voyager Magazine. She is a member of The Tennessee Nonprofit Network and values loyalty and community, often partnering with other nonprofits in Knoxville. Kari continues her education with online classes and plans to expand the program to rural counties lacking similar resources. In her personal life, she and her husband foster dogs for the Young Williams shelter.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kari
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to Glo. She was always there, she always showed up for me when I needed it. She is what pushed me to do this. The week after she passed away, I started the paperwork, and I had everything approved by the end of February. I don't think if I wouldn't have had her in my life, I don't think I would have gotten to this point.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don't ever stop learning. I'll be turning a certain age next month, and I still do online classes a couple times a week. You always need more and more education. Your brain won't ever stop learning it.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's definitely difficult, there's a lot of paperwork. I did it all by myself, every single thing. It is possible.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The challenges are getting and collecting instruments. We want every child to have their own instrument, and they're just hard to find. We don't want to buy brand new ones because they're expensive. We're trying to collect from the community, finding those instruments that we're willing to repair, new, used, repairable. We're having a really rough time getting those right now.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think loyalty and community is real important to me. Being in a nonprofit, you can't do everything yourself. You need to reach out to other community members and other nonprofits and ask for help. They've been wonderful here in Knoxville, partnering with other nonprofits. Getting with 2 or 3 nonprofits and writing a grant together or helping a family together. To me, that's what it's all about, is community.
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