Gloria Evans Nolan is a parent and public education advocate in St. Louis, Missouri. When she was six years old, her mother was sent to prison, and Gloria and her brother ended up in foster care. She credits two special teachers, Mrs. Blaine and Mrs. Cowley, for nurturing her and sparking a love of learning. The parent of two children in the St. Louis Public Schools, Gloria is a passionate advocate for her hometown and its schools, encouraging her friends and neighbors to “build up what we know is being threatened to be burned down.”