Stephanie Witte was born and raised in South Dakota. She has always had a passion for helping others and giving of herself has given her a wealth of experiences that have shaped her into the person she is today. From a young age, Stephanie harbored ambitions of becoming a forensic scientist, driven by a desire to contribute to justice and help society by apprehending wrongdoers. This aspiration led her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a specialization in Forensic Science fr...
Aug 06, 2025•30 min
Shannon is a certified genetic counselor with nearly 25 years of experience, mostly in the reproductive space. Previous roles have included Network Lead at Genome Medical, Team Lead at Mayo Clinic, and Prenatal and Preconception Genetic Counselor at CooperGenomics. She is currently the Director of Genetic Counseling at Fairfax Cryobank along with the Founder and Owner of Stork Genetics. She contributes additional work in medical affairs, scientific communication, and patient education and advoca...
Jul 16, 2025•56 min
Slaughter Law Group’s founding partner, Lesa Slaughter, has an international reputation for her strategic, supportive, and forward-thinking legal advice when counseling clients creating their family through gestational surrogacy, egg, sperm, and embryo donation. Lesa’s own personal journey of having children through gestational surrogacy, combined with her 15 years of practice in the field of third-party reproduction and prior experience in the transactional and litigation arenas ensures her cli...
Jul 09, 2025•56 min
Ashley. Ashley was born and raised in Pennsylvania. She is the mother to two beautiful children and a decade deep into marriage with her high school sweetheart. They live on a small “farmette” with all kinds of furry creatures! She loves to garden, sew clothing, cook, and bake! Surrogacy is something that was on her heart for years after a close family member battled infertility. In 2021, she completed a successful journey and delivered a healthy baby to a set of Intended Parents that became an ...
Jul 02, 2025•1 hr 2 min
Alyssa Schnell has been an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) since 2009. She works in private practice serving clients both locally and worldwide. She is the author of Breastfeeding Without Birthing: A Breastfeeding Guide for Mothers Through Adoption, Surrogacy, and Other Special Circumstances and a professional supplement to the book, The Breastfeeding Without Birthing Professional Pack online training. She is also the creator of DomHub, an extensive online resource for...
Jun 18, 2025•38 min
JOANNA PARGA-BELINKIE, MD, FAAP, IBCLC, is an associate professor of pediatrics and clinical neonatologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). She is a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and co-host of their flagship podcast Pediatrics On Call. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and three children. Listen as Dr. Parga-Belinkie shares with Ellen and Jenn: Finding there is a lot of noise and mixed mess...
Jun 04, 2025•44 min
Stephanie Jones is the Founder of the Michigan Fertility Alliance and Co-Founder of State Strong. After experiencing secondary infertility due to life-threatening pregnancy complications, Stephanie Jones and her husband were stunned to learn that Michigan banned surrogacy contracts—their only option to grow their family. Stephanie channeled her business expertise and personal perseverance into founding the Michigan Fertility Alliance and changing Michigan’s surrogacy and parentage laws. Under he...
May 07, 2025•59 min
Ashley Christman is a born and raised Pennsylvania girl. She is the mother to two beautiful children and a decade deep into marriage with her high school sweetheart. They live on a small “farmette” with all kinds of furry creatures! She loves to garden, sew clothing, cook and bake! Surrogacy is something that was on her heart for years after a close family member battled infertility. In 2021, she completed a successful journey and delivered a healthy baby to a set of Intended Parents that became...
Apr 30, 2025•44 min
Brooke Kimbrough is the founder of Roots Surrogacy, a boutique, relationship-driven surrogacy agency grounded in empathy, transparency, and ethical care. A former surrogate herself and a long-time industry professional, Brooke brings over a decade of firsthand experience to the work of guiding intended parents and surrogates through one of the most meaningful journeys of their lives. At the heart of everything she does is a deep belief in connection, women’s empowerment, and the power of doing t...
Apr 16, 2025•57 min
Carly Joseph is a surrogacy concierge helping Intended Parents match with the right surrogates quickly. Having navigated her own two surrogacy journeys, Carly knows firsthand how overwhelming the process can be. Her mission is to combine personal experience with established relationships to help make the path to parenthood smoother. Carly works with intended parents who are ready to explore surrogacy. Listen as Carly shares with Ellen and Jenn: Through eight rounds of IVF and four failed transfe...
Apr 09, 2025•43 min
Julie Eshelman is the Founder, CEO, and President of Building Military Families Network where she took her struggles and lack of support and access to information in family building and created an organization to fill that gap for military and veteran families. Her own family’s experiences with infertility and the frustrations resulting from a lack of insurance coverage and a support network led her to advocate and launch a nonprofit for the change she desperately wants to see for the next gener...
Apr 02, 2025•1 hr 8 min
As members of the LGBTQ+ community, Kristina and Sol always knew they would need fertility treatments to build their family. However, dual infertility diagnoses made their journey even more complex. This experience fueled their passion for advocacy, inspiring them to champion for expanded access to reproductive technology, fair donor-conceived laws, and protections for LGBTQ+ families. Kristina furthers this mission in her role as Chair of Colorado Fertility Advocates. After more than a decade o...
Mar 12, 2025•1 hr 3 min
Shea Bart Andreone is a writer, speaker, and author. She is also a mother who knows the agony that can come with trying to have a baby. Shea’s journey to becoming a mother to two healthy children was punctuated by pain, hospitalizations, and death. Carry On offers a candid, intrepid look into the real stories of the many people for whom this universal drive to start a family doesn’t come easily. These stories are an exploration of these people’s love, hope, and desperation to keep trying. Shea’s...
Mar 04, 2025•58 min
Dr. Julie Bindeman graduated from George Washington University and is the co-owner of Integrative Therapy of Greater Washington in Rockville, Maryland. Her specialty is in the field of Reproductive Psychology, where she actively writes, lectures, and presents. She is an approved consultant in EMDR through EMDRIA as well as a facilitator for basic training with The Touchstone Institute. She has served on several committees within the Mental Health Professional Group of the American Society for Re...
Jan 29, 2025•45 min
Zach French is an attorney with experience in technology startups and business development, and most recently served as an executive at SeedTrust. Zach’s connection to the ART world began when he and his wife, Alexandra, embarked on their own surrogacy journey after Alexandra’s battle with breast cancer. The tremendous mental and financial toll from their journey led them to establish The Surrogacy Foundation (formerly Gift of Surrogacy). Zach left SeedTrust in February to become full-time Execu...
Jan 15, 2025•56 min
Elizabeth Carr is the first baby born via in vitro fertilization in the United States. In the media since 3 cells old, Elizabeth is a passionate advocate for those fighting for fertility rights. From battles over insurance coverage, to educating doctors on how to interact with patients going through infertility treatments, to advice for parents on how to talk to children about assisted reproductive technologies, Elizabeth is proud to share her voice and story in order to fight for those who may ...
Jan 08, 2025•43 min
This is the story of a beautiful family assembled out of order: dog, daughter, dad. It's the story of planning years ahead to become a mom, and wishing she’d started years earlier. It's the story of the unexpected that arrives in every form from love (like a husband) to terror (like medical issues), and the life-changing decisions that accompany any rocky road through fertility. It was after their second date that Shira told her now husband she was probably pregnant. She conceived her daughter a...
Dec 11, 2024•51 min
Yifat Shaltiel, Esq. is Author of “Save Money on Surrogacy” and has 16+ years of experience practicing surrogacy and assisted reproductive technology law and providing surrogacy coaching. She is CEO and Founder of Surrogate Steps, a surrogacy agency, helping families grow for over ten years. As one of the chairs of the Reproductive Health Law Committee for the Women’s Bar Association of the state of New York, Yifat testified on surrogacy matters in the New York State Legislature and participated...
Dec 03, 2024•56 min
Ariel is a Registered Social Worker (RSW) and Psychotherapist who has been involved in the surrogacy and fertility community since 2015 and has guided countless couples and individuals on their journey to parenthood. After her own complicated miscarriage as a surrogate in 2016, Ariel discovered that there was very little specialized counselling for her painful situation and realized a much larger need for mental health professionals that deeply understand the fertility world. Ariel returned to s...
Nov 13, 2024•55 min
Ellen Weir Casey is the mother of one of the world's first IVF babies. Her daughter is known as "Colorado’s First Test Tube Baby." Her award-winning memoir, Unstoppable: Forging The Path To Motherhood in The Early Days Of IVF, is the first person account of a patient in the earliest days of Assisted Reproductive Technology. Ellen is a passionate advocate for unrestricted access to women’s health care. She speaks nationally and internationally bringing attention to the importance of establishing ...
Nov 06, 2024•54 min
Angela worked in the fertility domain for over 30 years. She has extensive experience working with fertility centers all over the world. She also has clinical experience, having worked directly with more than a dozen Reproductive Endocrinologists at five different fertility centers. Her mix of personal and professional experience has given Angela the skills to be a special advocate for those in the fertility realm. She is known for maintaining exceptional standards when assisting those in need. ...
Oct 30, 2024•54 min
Tierney Chrusciel is a 9th grader who lives in Western Massachusetts. They are on the swim team and love to write in their free time. Listen as Tierney shares with Ellen and Jenn: Being a 14-year-old freshman and knowing more about conception than most of their peers. Always knowing they were donor-conceived. Knowing and regularly visiting their parents’ egg donor, mom’s second cousin. Donor Marie feeling like an aunt, her kids like cousins. Joking with other IVF kids at school that a petri dish...
Oct 16, 2024•27 min
Jason Angel is a licensed Clinical Psychologist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He works with many individuals and families seeking assisted reproductive care and has been through the journey himself with his own family. Jason is committed to equal healthcare access and minimizing discrimination in the insurance marketplace. Tim Blood is a co-founding partner and firm’s managing partner of Blood Hurst & O’Reardon. For almost thirty years, his practice has focused on complex litigation, ...
Oct 09, 2024•58 min
Surrogacy Colombia has been a pioneer in international surrogacy in Colombia since 2018. They have clients from over 60 countries, and growing, and a team of highly qualified professionals to provide the best possible experience. Camila Tobón is Program Lead at Surrogacy Colombia. Her personal experience led her to professionally providing the highest level of care to hopeful parents and those helping hopeful parents achieve their dreams. Listen as Camila shares with Ellen and Jenn: Her journey ...
Oct 02, 2024•44 min
AllPaths Family Building has a mission to create a caring community for all people struggling with fertility and family building. AllPaths provides the psychosocial support, resources, and advocacy that are critical to those trying to grow their families. Kate Weldon LeBlanc (she/her/hers) is the Executive Director of AllPaths Family Building. Kate became Executive Director in January 2015, leading the strategic vision of the organization and working collectively with the staff, Board of Directo...
Sep 25, 2024•36 min
With over 30 years of dedication to pilates and dance, Leslie Lopez teaches privately to clients as well as to toddlers with creative holiday themed movement classes. She is an advocate for the arts and has served as a Board member for The Wallis Performing Arts Center and the California State Summer School for the Arts. In addition she worked for 20 years in hospitality and customer relations, working front of house for 3 star Michelin Chefs such as Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller. She is launc...
Jul 31, 2024•52 min
Rachele’ Davis, a former crime analyst for her local police department, founded New Hope Investigations in 2016. After seven years in civil service and seven years prior to that as an educator, Rachele’ found herself drawn to the private sector of investigations and the challenge of building her own business. Her master’s degree in criminal justice, resourcefulness, productivity level, and innovation have already served her well in this capacity. Rachele’ obtained her private investigator licens...
Jul 10, 2024•51 min
Sarah Paige has been a professional in the ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) insurance field since 2010. As Chief Operating Officer of ART Risk Financial and Insurance Solutions, Inc., and a licensed insurance agent, she remains current on all insurance issues pertinent to the ART field and works to find the best solutions for the ART Risk Solutions clients embarking on surrogacy journeys. With her extensive breadth of knowledge and expertise in the ART community, Sarah is a frequently soug...
Jun 12, 2024•36 min
Tirza Jova, the founder of Milk by Mom in Phoenix, AZ, empowers breastfeeding mothers through her innovative breast milk freeze drying service available nationwide. With an MBA and 17 years in international business, she’s modernizing breastfeeding practices. Tirza's mission extends beyond local borders, educating nationwide on the advantages of freeze dried breast milk and the freedom and flexibility freeze-drying provides while maintaining the benefits and security of breast milk. Listen as Ti...
Jun 05, 2024•28 min
Rachel is the owner of Adi Shakti Yoga; Therapy located in Longmont, Colorado. She has been practicing psychotherapy since 2014 and has 10 years of experience offering compassionate supportive counseling. She is a registered yoga & meditation teacher and has led women's groups and retreats. Having been a single parent, as well as raised children in a blended family, she is now the mother of a young son born in the country of Georgia thanks to a surrogate mother and an egg donor. Through her ...
May 22, 2024•55 min
