Posts in Episodes 76-100
Episode 79: Surrogacy In The Time Of COVID - Robin Pope

Robin Pope is an ART Attorney in Oregon with more than 25 years of adoption and family formation law. Robin graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School in 1981, when adoptions were closed, surrogacy as a solution to female infertility was a recent development, and assisted reproductive technologies such as gestational surrogacy, egg donations, and embryo transfers were newly emerging methods for family building. After her personal experience with infertility, her law practice shifted its focus from family law to adoption and family formation law.

Robin is a member of the Oregon State Bar and a Fellow in the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys. In addition to representing adoptive parents, birth parents, surrogates, and intended parents for the past 20 years, Robin has represented the position of the Oregon State Bar on adoption and surrogacy issues.

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Episode 77: Experiencing Surrogacy - Emily Field and Melissa Fleck

Emily Field and Melissa Fleck are co-authors of “Experiencing Surrogacy.” Emily overcame a long, hard, and emotional road for her to finally become a mom with the help of Melissa, her gestational carrier. Emily is very open about her fertility journey and feels that, when you go through something difficult in life, who better than you to do something about it for others. Emily and her husband Gregg started Field Fertility in 2016, which is a legal and consulting business working with intended parents, surrogates, egg donors, sperm donors, and embryo donors.

Melissa currently spends her time as a mom to two very active kids, is a wife to a hardworking law enforcement officer, and is an active member of the surrogacy community. She has been working at the Center for Surrogate Parenting, Inc. since 2016, where she is a surrogate case manager. Having been a surrogate herself, she gets to pay it forward by interviewing and guiding potential surrogates on their surrogacy journey, working for the same agency that brought her and her intended parent and coauthor, Emily, together. Melissa also enjoys working out at her local boot camp-style gym, watching her kids play sports, attending Dodgers games, spending time with friends and extended family, and watching as many movies as she can.

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Episode 76: - Creating Ohana Through Surrogacy - Ashley Mareko

Born and raised on the big island of Hawaii, Ashley Mareko knows the value of “ohana” (family), whether by blood or friendship. This strong tradition has been a guiding principle to Ashley as a 3-time(!) surrogate and through a career providing support to the surrogate community and intended parents. She feels blessed to be doing what she loves making a difference in people’s lives.

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