Adela Giessen (right) with Soroptimists Jennifer Luz-Olson (center) and Dyana Preti (left).
The guest speaker at our April Program meeting was Adela Giessen, Founder and CEO of Petals of Hope in Escondido. We first met her at our 2026 Human Trafficking Awareness Event, where survivor artists handed out hand-crafted floral corsages made from flowers donated by Trader Joe’s—each one meant to be worn as a statement of hope, restoration, and solidarity. Adela also provided lovely wrist corsages for our Live Your Dream awardees at our Luncheon in March. So of course we invited her to come speak to our club about her organization!
Adela’s Wedding and Event venue hosts micro weddings and other activities to generate revenue that supports her organization’s mission of providing services for trafficking victims, such as crisis stabilization, safe housing initiatives, trauma-informed creative retreats and vocational pathways, legal advocacy, prevention education, and other survivor support services.
Adela’s awareness of the issue of sex trafficking grew out of her long career in law enforcement. She was a dispatcher for the Los Angeles PD and worked for Long Beach PD and also worked here in Vista, where she was a community service officer, helping to implement positive reinforcement programs aimed at redirecting youth who are involved with gangs and crime. She has now switched careers, and following her passion, she and her husband have transformed their property in the San Pasqual Valley into a venue for weddings and other events, all with the mission of helping women who have been trafficked.
Not Just Weddings
Adela is constantly seeking grants, community partners and sponsors to help raise money for the various activities on her gorgeous property, such as her Petals of Hope Boutique & Café, which offers artisan goods, floral creations, and handcrafted gifts, while also providing survivors with retail experience, income, and pathways toward independence. She holds retreats for survivors, and wants to build tiny homes for safe housing for trafficking victims. All this and more ways to help are listed on her organization’s website at https://www.w2omg.org/