Episode 83: Stuck Abroad - Carolin Topelson
Episode 83: Stuck Abroad - Carolin Topelson

Carolin is originally from Mexico City. Her family moved to Denver when she was five, where she has lived most of her life. Carolin practices in the areas of real estate related litigation and business litigation. Specifically, Carolin’s practice has primarily focused on landlord-tenant law (both commercial and residential evictions and review of leases), mechanic liens, general real estate matters, homeowner association issues, partition of real estate, business disputes, and contracts. In her spare time, Carolin likes to ski, be with family, cook, travel and volunteer for different causes.

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Episodes 76-100Tyler EllisIntended Parent, International, Legal Issues
Episode 82: Beware of the Home DNA Kit - Danielle Teuscher and Jill Teitel
Episode 82: Beware of the Home DNA Kit - Danielle Teuscher and Jill Teitel

Danielle Teuscher and her spouse struggled with infertility but were successful in conceiving a daughter through the use of donated sperm. Many years later, Danielle and her family, along with her daughter, took at home DNA tests. The results were surprising, and the chain of events that followed were even more so!

Jill Teitel has been an attorney since 1996 and in private practice since 2011. She has a varied legal background from commercial litigation, trusts and estates work, and corporate and international arbitration. Her practice centers around trusts and estates and litigation involving women’s rights and advocacy.

The case of Teuscher v. CCB-NWC, LLC is in ongoing litigation. Anything that Ms. Teuscher or Ms. Teitel stated in this podcast, recorded on February 28, 2020, should not be used for anything other than communication to the public about the Plaintiffs' plight.

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Episodes 76-100Tyler EllisGenetic Identity, Infertility, Legal Issues
Episode 81: Father, Attorney, Advocate - Ryan Ferrante
Episode 81: Father, Attorney, Advocate - Ryan Ferrante

Ryan's career as an Assisted Reproduction Technology attorney was born of a personal, four-year infertility struggle shared with his wife. This challenging experience to start his own family gives Ryan a unique perspective - one of an intended father, a party to a gestational surrogacy agreement, and an experienced attorney - to fully understand the emotional, practical, and legal issues facing patients when pursuing infertility treatments. Ryan earned his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago and Bachelor's Degree in Finance from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Ryan is a professional member of RESOLVE, the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Chicago Bar Association.

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Episodes 76-100Tyler EllisAdvocacy, Intended Parent, Legal Issues, Infertility
Episode 80: Courts, Covid, and Custody: A Hot Debate
Episode 80: Courts, Covid, and Custody: A Hot Debate

Dr. Christina Yannetsos qualified for and attended the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. After an injury stopped her from competing, she pursued her life-long passion of caring for patients. She graduated from the University of Colorado with honors, completed medical school and a residency in Emergency Medicine, becoming a Board-Certified Physician. Christina is a passionate advocate and -- more importantly than the doctor or Olympics stuff -- a former guest of the podcast.

Sophie Jacobi-Parisi concentrates her practice in all areas of matrimonial and family law. She is experienced handling complicated custody cases, particularly custody matters involving children with special needs. Sophie is experienced in negotiating prenuptial, separation and settlement agreements and she also has litigation and trial experience in New York’s Family and Supreme courts.

Eric Wrubel has dealt with a large variety of issues in family and matrimonial matters, including complex equitable distribution questions, novel support and custody issues, as well as being on the forefront in same-gender marital issues. Despite his extensive credentials and easy going manner, Eric will confess that Sophie is much more likeable and that he is quickly forgotten once his friends and admirers meet her.

Attorneys Eric Wrubel and Sophie Jacobi-Parisi are law partners at Warshaw Burstein in New York. Both practice in the area of complex family and matrimonial law. A heated email conversation between Eric and Sophie over shocking Covid-19 custody rulings, and the appropriate role of the court system, inspired this moderated debate. And given the medical issues involved we brought in an expert, emergency room physician Dr. Christina Yannetsos.

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Episodes 76-100Tyler EllisLegal Issues
Episode 79: Surrogacy In The Time Of COVID - Robin Pope
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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Episodes 76-100Tyler EllisLegal Issues, Infertility
Episode 77: Experiencing Surrogacy - Emily Field and Melissa Fleck
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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Episodes 76-100Tyler EllisGestational Carrier Experience, Infertility, Intended Parent
Episode 76: - Creating Ohana Through Surrogacy - Ashley Mareko
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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Episodes 76-100Tyler EllisGestational Carrier Experience, Surrogacy Expert
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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.  

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisEgg Donation