Who are some of the women in your life that help you grow?

“Two of my girlfriends, who are speaking at this year’s conference: Katherine Power who started WhoWhatWear and Sophia Rossi, who founded HelloGiggles. Not only is it just so inspiring for me to watch these two powerhouse women build this insane business in areas that I know nothing about...but also to see how their knowledge and my knowledge can overlap at times and how we can rely on each other. They also happen to be best friends and they kind of do similar things, but instead of being in competition with each other they have done nothing but help each other throughout their entire careers. It’s so cool for me to sit and watch that from the sidelines.”

Where does the name Pearl xChange come from?

“I call the girls in my life the 'pearls' of my life. It's this idea of pearls of wisdom, a pearl on its own is beautiful, but it’s only when it becomes a strand that it becomes more and more valuable. That’s how I think we as women should look at each other.”'

This is your second year doing this event. What's been one of your favourite Pearl xChange stories so far?

“Marianne Williamson spoke last year about how we need to look at ourselves and say 'What do I have to offer, how can I help?' From that, my girlfriend Erin Foster was at the conference, and she had just seen this documentary called The Hunting Ground about college campuses and rape. She thought, 'You know, this doesn’t have anything to do with me but it was this movie that I’m so inspired by, maybe I can screen it for my girlfriends and just help get the word out.' I saw the film and was so moved and loved the [filmmaker] so much, her name is Amy Ziering, and she's now one of my speakers for the conference this year. It’s one of my favourite stories because without Erin being at the conference and introducing me to Amy, I wouldn’t have even met her, and so you know when you are opening yourself up to that kind of vibration you don’t know what the world is going to bring you or who you’re going to meet.”

Have there been any lessons from the conference that you've wanted to teach your own daughter or son?

“Last year, every time I wasn’t speaking I sat and listened to all the speakers and each one of them had a gem that I [wrote] down and brought home with me. It was to not only incorporate these ideas into my motherhood, but also just my life. I think as a mother, it’s less about what you say to kids and more about what you do. Teaching your children is definitely more about your actions.”