I met supermodel Coco Rocha at the IFB Conference on September 7th. She was a panelist on how to balance blogging with business. Coco writes about her life on her blog, Oh So Coco, and was the first supermodel to start a blog.

During the panel Q&A I asked a question about how to negotiate with brands. Coco was very sweet and jumped in to answer my question. She told me to always stand my ground, to believe in my dreams, and to never be afraid to fight for myself. She seemed like she actually cared about making sure that all of us bloggers realize our value, both as bloggers and as human beings. I knew Coco was a great person because I wrote a paper for my public policy class last winter about the viability of government regulation of thinness in fashion (like in Spain and Israel), and quoted Coco. She is a prominent advocate for healthy body images and actively works to make the world a better place by volunteering overseas. 

Coco is an incredibly inspirational woman and it was a privilege to photograph her for my blog. I only had a few seconds since her car was already waiting, but she was very happy to let me take her picture. Basically, Coco Rocha is a kickass person who just so happens to also be unbelievably gorgeous. Her inner-self is just beautiful as her outside.

Follow Coco on Twitter, @CocoRocha.