Amy Ballon and Danielle Botterell,

Co-Founders

Admiral Road Designs

Amy Ballon and Danielle Botterell are the co-founders of Admiral Road Designs, purveyors of high-quality blankets for babies and children, (www.admiralroad.com) and the authors of Mom Inc., the informative guide to the challenges of being a mom and entrepreneur at the same time. Amy and Danielle completed their Bachelor of Arts degrees at McGill University and attained their Master of Business Administration degrees from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Prior to establishing Admiral Road Designs, Amy worked as a strategic management consultant for Mercer Management Consulting. Danielle spent five years in the investor relations and corporate communications field working as a director for TrizecHahn Corporation and Minorca Resources. Amy is mother to two daughters and a son and Danielle is mom to one son and one daughter, and they both live in Toronto with their families. After nearly a decade of juggling business and family, Amy and Danielle decided to put their thoughts on paper. Their book - the definitive resource about mom entrepreneurship - Mom Inc., was released by HarperCollins and in February 2011.

Shirley Broback,

Founder & Producer

Vancouver Island Baby Fair

Host & Producer

Real Parenting radio show on CFAX 1070

Shirley Broback is the proud mom of two little ones, the producer of the Vancouver Island Baby Fair, the host and producer of the popular radio show Real Parenting on CFAX 1070 and the 2009 winner of the SavvyMom Mom Entrepreneur of the Year Award. With a background in event planning, marketing, sales and management, as well as in the perinatal field – as a labour doula & breastfeeding counselor - Shirley combined her passion, experience and skills together to create the Vancouver Island Baby Fair. After the huge success of the first fair in 2007, Shirley now produces regular shows on Vancouver Island. Shirley has a deep interest in supporting community initiatives at her events, showcasing and helping raise funds for local non-profits geared to children and families. The Real Parenting radio show explores the ways people experience life with their children- ranging from pregnancy and birth to the achievements and challenges of parenting teens.

Kathy Buckworth,

Writer, public speaker, and television personality

Kathy Buckworth is an award winning writer, public speaker, and television personality.  She is the author of five books, including "The BlackBerry Diaries: Adventures in Modern Motherhood" and her latest, "Shut Up and Eat: Tales of Chicken, Children & Chardonnay". She is a feature writer for Sympatico.ca in their parenting, travel, and auto sections , and is also a contributes to ParentsCanada, Ottawa Families, Dabble Magazine, Canadian Families, Disney Playhouse, and Oh Baby. She is a parenting correspondent for CTVNewsChannel, and appears on shows such as CityLine and The Marilyn Denis Show. She has over 18 years of corporate marketing experience, and has served as spokesperson and social media consultant for companies such as Procter & Gamble, Research In Motion, Presidents Choice Financial and LeapFrog Toys.

Visit www.kathybuckworth.com or follow along at www.twitter.com/kathybuckworth

Andrea Gordon,

Family Issues Reporter

Star Media Group

Andrea Gordon launched the family issues beat for the Toronto Star seven years ago and is also immersed in parenthood at home, as the mother of four boys. In the first half of her journalism career, she covered business and economics in Toronto and Ottawa, which included issues of importance to small businesses. As someone who spent years as a freelance journalist when her children were young, she knows the challenges of working from home and juggling the roles of mom and professional. In her current role, Gordon has written extensively about family life, including work-life balance, children’s health, the impact of media on children and teens, and mom entrepreneurs.

Nicky Mezo,

Head of Marketing

PayPal Canada

Nicky Mezo is the head of marketing for PayPal Canada. In her present role, she is responsible for driving results in Acquisition, Engagement and Retention on both the merchant and consumer side of the business.

Nicky has over 17 years of both business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing experience. Prior to her role at PayPal, she spent ten years working at American Express and six years working on the agency side. Nicky was the recipient of several Amex awards including President's Club winner and Chairman's Award for Quality winner twice.

She has been an active member of the Canadian Marketing Association sitting on the B2B Council and organizing its highly successful B2B Marketing Conference last year.

Nicky has a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University and a Certified Advertising Agency Practitioner Certificate from the Institute of Canadian Advertising. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons.

Victoria Sopik

President and CEO

Kids & Company

The daily tug-of-war between a career and children can leave one torn between both worlds. Victoria Sopik, entrepreneur, mother of eight and founder of Kids & Company, understands the delicate balancing act and is determined to make a difference by helping working parents and concerned employers. As President and CEO of Kids & Company, a highly successful chain of childcare centres which serves thousands of families and which was ranked #1 in the 2008 PROFIT Magazine’s list of Canada’s fastest-growing companies, Victoria oversees the company’s strategic direction and provides leadership to the company’s management team to deliver industry leading childcare services. Ms. Sopik has a long and distinguished career in the childcare industry with more than 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur.