Posts in Episodes 51-75
Episode 75: A 10 Year Journey to Grow Our Family - Erin Chrusciel
Episode 75: A 10 Year Journey to Grow Our Family - Erin Chrusciel

Erin Chrusciel and her husband Stephen spent a solid decade consumed with trying to build their family. After multiple miscarriages, dozens of failed cycles, therapists, psychiatrists, acupuncturists and herbalists she finally had to mourn the loss of using her own eggs to have a baby. With the unexpected generosity of two different egg donors, the Chrusciel’s are finally a family of four.

Erin provides support to the 1 in 8 who battle infertility by running a peer-support group in Western Massachusetts through Resolve New England.

Read More
Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisInfertility, Loss
Episode 74: You Can’t Do That In Michigan - Stephanie Jones
Episode 74: You Can’t Do That In Michigan - Stephanie Jones

Stephanie Jones is a former automotive engineer and now works as a serial entrepreneur, executive coach, and business consultant. Stephanie is passionate about advancing surrogacy laws in Michigan and helping educate intended parents about the surrogacy journey regardless of where you live. After having a son and then experiencing two rare cornual ectopic pregnancies and a near death experience, surrogacy was Stephanie and her husband’s only option for expanding their family with a child that shared their DNA.

Interesting facts about Stephanie include that she raced ATV motocross, was nominated to the Miss Michigan pageant, was a top athlete in high school, likes dogs more than people (on most days), is obsessed with 1950’s vintage fashion, mud wrestled in Vegas, loves a good tequila on the rocks, and will always be a small-town Michigan girl no matter where life takes her.

Read More
Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisAdvocacy, Intended Parent, Surrogacy Expert
Episode 73: Discovering the Sperm Donor Generation -- Scattered Seeds Author Jacqueline Mroz
Episode 73: Discovering the Sperm Donor Generation -- Scattered Seeds Author Jacqueline Mroz

Jacqueline Mroz is a veteran science writer and journalist. Her articles have appeared in the Science section of The New York Times, The New York Post, The Bergen Record, Parents Magazine and New Jersey Monthly Magazine. Jacqueline has been interviewed on national radio shows and television, including The Today Show, about her work. She has taught journalism at Montclair State University and Rutgers University. Her popular New York Times article about a sperm donor with 150 children became the book, Scattered Seeds: In Search of Family and Identity in the Sperm Donor Generation. She lives in Montclair, New Jersey with her husband and three children.

Read More
Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisAuthor, Genetic Identity
Episode 72: Battling Infertility One Grant At A Time - Pamela Hirsch
Episode 72: Battling Infertility One Grant At A Time - Pamela Hirsch

Pamela Hirsch is a co-founder of Baby Quest Foundation which provides financial assistance through fertility grants to those who cannot afford the high costs of procedures such as IVF, gestational surrogacy, egg and sperm donation, egg freezing, and embryo donation. Prior to establishing the non-profit charity, Pamela was one of the original franchise owners of The Princeton Review, a national test preparation company.  In 1993, she was named to INC Magazine’s Top 500 List as head of one of the fastest growing private companies in the United States.

Read More
Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisInfertility
Episode 71: From Fighting for Team USA to Fighting for Change in Colorado -- Dr. Christina Yannetsos
Episode 71: From Fighting for Team USA to Fighting for Change in Colorado -- Dr. Christina Yannetsos

Diagnosed with Hypothalamic Amenorrhea in her 20s, she realized that she too was an infertility warrior battling the emotional, physical, and significant financial challenges associated with infertility. Frustrated with the lack of resources and support to build families, she started Colorado Fertility Advocacy (which joined with the non-profit Colorado Fertility Advocates) with the hopes of joining passionate like minds who can be the voice to create change for others struggling with infertility. Dog mom and wife to a loving supportive husband, she continues her journey with the hopes to add a miracle baby to their family and to help others do the same.

Christina moved to Colorado from Miami, Florida to train at the Olympic Training Center in the sport of judo. She qualified for the 2004 Olympics for the US, and attended the Olympics in Athens, Greece as an Olympic Alternate after sustaining an injury at the Olympic Trials. It was after this that she decided to pursue her life-long passion of caring for patients. She graduated from the University of Colorado with honors, and achieved her dream after being accepted to medical school and completing her residency in Emergency Medicine, becoming a Board Certified Physician. Throughout her education, the importance of being a passionate advocate for patients and her community stood strong.

Read More
Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisAdvocacy, Infertility
Episode 70: Will Halm, Esq.
Episode 70: Will Halm, Esq.

Will Halm is the Managing Partner of International Reproductive Law Group.  He has specialized in the field of assisted
reproductive law for over 20 years.  Will is a magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, and received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the father of three children through surrogacy and egg donation.  

He has devoted his legal career to surrogacy and egg donation law. Will’s legal work in the field of assisted reproduction has been featured in numerous documentaries, television programs, publications, and books, including 20/20, NBC News, The New York Times, UK Guardian, the Advocate, and others. 

Will has set a number of legal precedents in the field of assisted reproduction law, including being granted, in 1998, the first parentage judgment to a same-sex couple in a gestational surrogacy case. Will is a member of the American Bar Association, Assisted Reproductive Technology Section and Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys.

Read More
Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisIntended Parent, Legal Issues, LGBTQ Parenthood
Episode 68: Super Attorney Steve Snyder Takes On The Big Questions
Episode 68: Super Attorney Steve Snyder Takes On The Big Questions

Steve Snyder is nationally known for his work helping families
with assisted reproduction law. He is the past chair of the American Bar Association's Assisted Reproductive Technology Committee, Family Law Section. Steve has taught numerous reproductive law continuing legal education classes to fellow Minnesota attorneys, as well as to lawyers from across the globe. Many attorneys refer assisted reproductive law cases to him because of his extensive knowledge in the field. Steve has been recognized as a Super Lawyer, and he is also AV Rated (which means judges and fellow attorneys have noted him as having the highest degree of legal ability and ethical standards).

Read More
Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisLegal Issues
Episode 67: Showing ALL the Intimate and Gory Details of Surrogacy to the World - Crystal Rosburg
Episode 67: Showing ALL the Intimate and Gory Details of Surrogacy to the World - Crystal Rosburg

Crystal Rosburg is a two-time surrogate. She carried for a lovely same sex couple from France and was featured in a documentary of the journey. Crystal is also Intake Coordinator of our very own Southwest Surrogacy! She uses her professional experience from working at The Fertility Center of Law Vegas as an IVF Department Supervisor and her personal surrogacy experience to support intended parents and gestational carriers in growing families.  

Read More
Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisGestational Carrier Experience, International
Episode 66: There’s No Such Thing As Anonymous Sperm Donation - Wendy Kramer
Episode 66: There’s No Such Thing As Anonymous Sperm Donation - Wendy Kramer

Wendy Kramer is Director of the Donor Sibling Registry (DSR). The DSR is a charity organization, founded in 2000 by Wendy and her donor-conceived son Ryan, to assist individuals conceived as a result of sperm, egg or embryo donation that are seeking to make mutually desired contact with others with whom they share genetic ties. With more than 66,000 members in 105 countries, the DSR has helped to connect more than 17,000 people with their half-siblings and/or their donors. Without any outside support, the DSR has pioneered an international discussion about the donor conception industry and the families, with its research, speaking engagements and media appearances.

Wendy has co-authored numerous published papers on donor-conception, has reviewed abstracts for the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, and has been a peer reviewer for the journals Human Reproduction and RBM Online. She was Associate Producer on the Style Network's 2011 Emmy nominated show Sperm Donor and on MTV News & Docs, series Generation Cryo, that aired in December 2013. Wendy and her son Ryan have appeared on 60 Minutes, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America and many other news shows and publications. Wendy is co-author of the book Finding our Families: A first-of-a-kind Book for Donor Conceived People and Their Families.

Read More
Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisGenetic Identity, Sperm Donations
Episode 65: This Morning We Weren’t Parents - Samantha Frazee
Episode 65: This Morning We Weren’t Parents - Samantha Frazee

Samantha Frazee is a Foster Parent Engagement Specialist with Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services. Samantha is responsible for the recruitment and retention of foster care providers in Boulder County. She does this primarily through community outreach, speaking events, and word of mouth. Samantha has an identical twin sister, is happily married to her wife of 20 years and has 3 wonderful children through foster care.

Read More
Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisFoster Care
Episode 64: You Are Not Alone - Barbara Collura
Episode 64: You Are Not Alone - Barbara Collura

Barbara Collura is President and CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. Barbara is a nationally recognized expert on infertility and the family building journey, with a special emphasis on the personal experience of those struggling to build their family. Barbara has worked with the World Health Organization on infertility definitions and clinical guidelines, worked with ACOG on their clinical definitions for infertility, and served a four-year term on the Advisory Council of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at NIH. Barbara is an expert on public policy issues facing the infertility community that impact both patient access and clinical care. Barbara is passionate about RESOLVE’s mission as the organization was a source of support and information during her own battle with infertility.

Read More
Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisAdvocacy, Infertility
Episode 63: Beverly Hills Egg Donation - Robyn Perchik
Episode 63: Beverly Hills Egg Donation - Robyn Perchik

Robyn Perchik is the managing partner of Beverly Hills Egg Donation (BHED). An accomplished senior executive with over 29 years’ experience in risk management underwriting, Robyn brings her skills in strategic planning, operations, business development, human resource management and finance to BHED. Robyn has been married for 29 years and is the mother of three boys and one grandson. Robyn understands first-hand the challenges of combining work and home, and the central importance of creating a family.

Read More
Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisEgg Donation
Episode 62: Three Time Surrogate To Surrogate Mentor - Christina Ewoldt
Episode 62: Three Time Surrogate To Surrogate Mentor - Christina Ewoldt

Christina Ewoldt is extremely proud to have helped three families realize their dream of having a baby, while creating the extended "family" she has always wanted in return. She is passionate about surrogacy and enjoys mentoring other surrogates and intended parents to mitigate risk and create their own beautiful surrogacy journeys. She is currently writing a memoir on her surrogacy experiences to memorialize the stories for those families she helped and has high hopes of publishing it one day!

She is an “almost-Colorado-native”, having lived in the beautiful state since she was 3 years old. She lives in Thornton with her husband, two rambunctious boys, and a sweet, geriatric Beagle. She is a Cub Scout Den Leader and an avid event/theme party planner! Christina recently left the corporate world to start her own business, PM Oh! Services, LLC (www.pm-oh.com), specializing in fractional PMO services, contract project management and business transformation services; where she hopes to share her love of all things project management to make organizations more efficient, effective, and productive.

Read More
Episodes 51-75Ashley OldGestational Carrier Experience
Episode 61: Life, (Almost) Death, and A Curveball –Part 2 – Michelle Minucci
Episode 61: Life, (Almost) Death, and A Curveball –Part 2 – Michelle Minucci

Michelle Minucci is a world traveler, and runs a life-coaching business, Stones Unturned, in San Diego (though she works worldwide). She coaches individuals whom are navigating transitions or seeking to gain more confidence, fulfillment, and balance in their lives, including those in the surrogacy, LGBT, and open-relationship communities. She has also been a surrogate, carried twins and now writes children’s books to help families explain how they grew their family through assisted reproductive technology. 

Read More
Episodes 51-75Tim StrombelGestational Carrier Experience
Episode 60: Life, (Almost) Death, and A Curveball – Part 1 – Michelle Minucci
Episode 60: Life, (Almost) Death, and A Curveball – Part 1 – Michelle Minucci

Michelle Minucci is a world traveler, and runs a life-coaching business, Stones Unturned, in San Diego (though she works worldwide). She coaches individuals whom are navigating transitions or seeking to gain more confidence, fulfillment, and balance in their lives, including those in the surrogacy, LGBT, and open-relationship communities. She has also been a surrogate, carried twins and now writes children’s books to help families explain how they grew their family through assisted reproductive technology. 

Read More
Episodes 51-75Ashley OldGestational Carrier Experience
Episode 59: Want Change? Make It Happen! - Davina Fankhauser
Episode 59: Want Change? Make It Happen! - Davina Fankhauser

Davina Fankhauser is president and cofounder for Fertility Within Reach. She is an advocate for fertility benefits for those struggling with infertility. In 2010, Davina successfully lobbied for improved fertility legislation in the state of Massachusetts. Fertility Within Reach was founded soon after to share what was learned from that experience, to teach others how to advocate for themselves and to educate policymakers on the benefits of providing insurance coverage to treat the disease of infertility.

Read More
Episodes 51-75Ashley OldAdvocacy, Infertility
Episode 57: Free Sperm! Too good to be true? – Kyle Gordy
Episode 57: Free Sperm! Too good to be true? – Kyle Gordy

Our most controversial episode to date. Kyle Gordy (not his real name) is a private sperm donor in Los Angeles, California that has been privately donating his sperm for the last 5 years through social media outlets such as Facebook and Craigslist. Gordy has over 15 genetic children through his private donations. But is this a wise option for hopeful parents, or does this path put Kyle (and all other parties) at legal risk? 

Read More
Episodes 51-75Ashley OldGenetic Identity, Sperm Donations
Episode 56: How Much Is A Lost Embryo Worth? -- with Colleen Quinn
Episode 56: How Much Is A Lost Embryo Worth? -- with Colleen Quinn

Rockstar ART attorney Colleen Quinn talks nightmare cases, difficult valuations, and changing the law. Colleen Quinn has over three decades of experience in adoption, personal injury, medical malpractice, employment, estate planning, and assisted reproductive technology law. She received her J.D. from the University of Virginia, her B.A. from William and Mary, and served as Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Harry L. Carrico, Chief Justice, Virginia Supreme Court. Colleen is a Fellow and past President of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (“AAAA”). She has so many awards and recognitions as an outstanding attorney, we wouldn’t know where to start! Not to mention, Colleen is a parent to twin boys and teaches aerobics in her spare time.

Read More
Episodes 51-75Ashley OldLegal Issues, Surrogacy Law
Episode 55: The Danish, The US, And The Intricacies of International Surrogacy - Kaspar Arianto
Episode 55: The Danish, The US, And The Intricacies of International Surrogacy - Kaspar Arianto

For Kaspar and his husband starting a family meant the world. Literally. They travelled from Denmark to the US to fulfill their dreams of having twins. Coming from a country were surrogacy is considered a legal grey zone, planning their journey went beyond budgeting for immense economic and emotional costs. They also had to factor in potential legal backlash, insurance problems and one looong flight home.

Read More
Episodes 51-75Ashley OldIntended Parent, International, Legal Issues, Surrogacy Expert