On October 3, 2012, 130 moms were treated to a day filled with stories from moms making a difference in the arts, fashion, culture, business, science, media, politics and more.

Missed Leading Moms last year? Watch the video to get an idea of what the day was really like.

Christy Clark was sworn in as B.C.’s 35th Premier on March 14, 2011 and was elected Vancouver-Point Grey MLA on May 12, 2011.

She previously served as the MLA for Port Moody-Burnaby Mountain (1996-2001) and Port Moody-Westwood (2001-2005). She has served as Deputy Premier, Minister of Education, Minister of Children and Family Development and vice-chair of the Treasury Board.

She took a break from government in 2005 to spend more time with her family. She worked in the media as a columnist, commentator and host of the “Christy Clark Show” on CKNW.

Premier Clark pioneered the anti-bullying “Pink Shirt Campaign” in B.C. and received a YWCA Woman of Distinction Award. She attended Simon Fraser University, Collège de Sorbonne and the University of Edinburgh.

One of the highlights of Leading Moms 2012, Tara McLean-Grand introduced her video to her song Where Am I? When the lights came up, there was not a dry eye in the house.

Tara MacLean-Grand is a singer/songwriter and mother of three amazing girls.  She is also a doula, a prenatal consultant for Moksha Yoga, an ordained minister and devoted wife.  Tara has toured the world singing for the last 15 years but now lives on a stunning Salt Spring Island farm where she is immersed in being a mother and writer.  She is currently trying to figure out what to do with 600 pounds of pears, and trying to hide her lip gloss from her 10-year-old.

Find out more about Tara at www.theripple.ca

Natalie Angell-Besseling is the Founder and Executive Director ofThe Shanti Uganda Society.  Shanti Uganda is a Canadian Charity and Ugandan NGO that improves infant and maternal health, provides safe women-centered care and supports the well-being of birthing mothers and women living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda.  She has been sharing her time between Vancouver, BC and Uganda since 2007.

She co-founded Heart Centre Yoga, has produced a guided meditation CD and spent several years working as a doula and supporting birthing mamas in Uganda and Canada.  In 2010 Natalie gave birth to her own daughter at home in water.

Natalie is on the International Advisory Board for the Women Like Us Foundation and now spends her time speaking around North America on issues surrounding maternal & infant health, grassroots women’s initiatives and sustainable international development.

With an MA in English Literature and a BA in Psychology, Ratana began her career in India as a college lecturer.

She met and married her life-partner Arran Stephens in 1969 and moved to Canada, soon joining his then small, but growing vegetarian restaurant enterprise.

In 1984, she and Arran started Nature’s Path Foods with very little capital, out of the back of their restaurant.

As Co-CEO, Ratana is often described as the “heart” of the company and is at the center of every development. With acumen and practicality, she has helped lead and inspire significant successful growth. In 2009, Ratana was recognized with the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award along with several other awards for community service.

Ratana and Arran are parents of three daughters and a son, who are passionately involved in various aspects of the enterprise.

A role model for entrepreneurial women, Ratana is committed to opportunities that meet the needs of people and planet.

Gail Murphy is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia and a co-founder and currently Chief Scientific Officer at Tasktop Technologies Incorporated. Much of her research and company work is about how to make knowledge workers more productive with the right technology. She puts this work into action managing work and a family life that includes three boys.

In this video, she talks about task management and motherhood.

Monica Morong (aka World Hip Hop Mom) is a conscious mom rapper on a mission to make mainstream music more meaningful for our youth who are strongly influenced by what they hear on the radio and listen to online. Monica is currently re-writing popular rap songs and uploading her remakes to YouTube to shed light on how absurd and meaningless some songs truly are. Her goal is to produce trendy and uplifting songs that appeal to young people and move them to want to do good in the world. Monica lives in Vancouver with her husband and two young girls.

Watch her videos now.

Dr. Carol Friedrich-Fong is the Program Head and an instructor in the Biotechnology Department at BCIT. Carol has been an educator in the field of Microbiology and Biotechnology for 10 years.

In addition to the Biotechnology majors, Carol has taught nursing, environmental health and nuclear medicine students. Carol is also involved in yearly high school outreach workshops that expose students to biotechnology as a possible career choice. She enjoys seeing the excitement in the students when they understand the amazing future possibilities and diversity of biotechnology, and when they see beyond the “biotech in the news”. However, Carol feels it is just as important for her students to think critically about the social, ethical, environmental and economic consequences of such fast moving technologies.

Carol enjoys spending time with her husband and two young boys, preferably outdoors!

Fiona Douglas-Crampton believes in the importance of having mentors and in being a mentor to others. Having grown up on a hobby farm in Southern Ontario with five siblings and a barnyard full of animals, Fiona’s early life was shaped by her parents’ inspiration and mentoring. Today, she regularly coaches people in career transition and delivers workshops on career search and relationship building for women in the job market.

Before becoming the CEO of the Minerva Foundation in September 2011, Fiona’s roles included Director of Membership Marketing and Executive Director of the Women’s Leadership Circle at the Vancouver Board of Trade, and Acting Director of Fund Development at YWCA Metro Vancouver. She is also currently a mentor with the YWCA and the Vancouver Board of Trade

Fiona resides in Deep Cove, North Vancouver, with her husband Dan, her two children and their dog.

About the Minerva Foundation

With a mission to elevate the visibility, influence and contribution of women leaders, the Minerva Foundation has helped to create and fund programs that have assisted more than 3000 women and girls across British Columbia since its inception in 1999. Learn more about how the Minerva Foundation is changing lives and empowering women by visiting its web site and following them on Twitter at @MinervaBC.

Shannon Ward and Diana Stirling are the authors of Babyproofing Your Business, teaching entrepreneurs how to build wildly successful businesses without sacrificing themselves or their families. These moms, entrepreneurs and change-makers have figured out that work-life balance is a myth and redefining success is the key to living an amazing life. They have been extensively quoted, listed and ranked since they tore down their 7-figure business and rebuilt it on a new business model called Pretirement that earns them freedom, financial gain and fulfillment.