I Want to Put a Baby in You!

Jesse Fiest has worked in family-building marketing and content creation for over six years and is proud to be co-chair of RESOLVE's 2020 and 2021 Federal Advocacy Day. She was inspired to take a more active role in advocacy when she began working with gestational carriers and egg donors. "Just seeing women put themselves on the front line as surrogates and donors do, it made me want do contribute in a more meaningful way, to pay forward the luck I have had in my own family-building." Jesse's educational background is in law and cultural anthropology. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and their young daughter. (Jesse REALLY wants to find a West Virginia attendee for AD 2021 so that all 50 states are represented.) Joe Cody has been active in RESOLVE Advocacy Day since 2018, previously serving on the Volunteer Training Committee, as a Maryland State Captain, and as Advocacy Day Co-Chair in 2020. He is dedicated to increasing access to family building options and has been blown away by the support and energy from RESOLVE volunteers. He believes stories from constituents and experts like Advocacy Day attendees move policy, drive support, and create real change. He has lived in Washington DC since 2008, where he has worked for a Member of Congress, served as a health policy consultant, and provided health care related government relations and regulatory analysis for multiple medical associations for over a decade. Listen to Jesse and Joe as they discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • Each of Jesse and Joe’s personal stories that inspired their paths to advocacy. • The incredible – and sometimes intimidating – experience of advocating for a better future. • What RESOLVE Advocacy Day looks like. • How to prepare for advocacy day. • How you can help and get involved! • Sign up for Advocacy Day at http://familybuilding.resolve.org/site/Calendar?id=65200&view=Detail • Contact your legislators through RESOLVE's Letter system at https://p2a.co/u6qlzep Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about RESOLVE: https://resolve.org/

Ellen Gustafson is a social entrepreneur, author, activists, and, most importantly, Mom and Military Spouse. She has done extensive work toward food system change (Authoring “We the Eaters: If We Can Change Dinner, We Can Change the World”, Co-Founding Food Tank: the food think tank, giving 4 four TEDx Talks on food system change and advising big food businesses like Barilla and start-ups like Food Stand). She is the Co-Founder of FEED and the FEED Foundation, an early give-back fashion brand that has helped provide over 100 million school meals to children around the world, has been the Co-Director of the Summit Institute since 2016, which applies creative solutions to the world’s biggest challenges and has helped create diversity, inclusion, and anti-harassment programs at multiple conference companies. She is the Mom of three miracle toddlers and lives with them and her husband in “just seasonal enough” Virginia Beach, VA. Katy Bell Hendrickson is a Military Spouse to a retired career Naval Special Warfare officer and mother of five children. She and her husband have experience with adoption, assisted reproduction and third party reproduction. Katy was the Reserve Flag Spouse Advisor for the Command Spouse Leadership School at NLEC in Naval Station Newport, Flag Spouse Advisor for CORE San Diego, and an Advisor to Naval Services FamilyLine in Washington DC. Katy has been active in the Warrior and Family Support Group at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado as a Senior Peer Mentor and has led multiple workshops on Family Building covering the topics of ART and Adoption. In her spare time, she is an architect by education and training - having spent the last decade working mainly in residential design and historic preservation. She is a former Board of Director for the Coronado Historical Association, Chairperson for the Heritage Committee, Chairwoman for the Coronado Historical Home Tour 2017-2019 and the recipient of the Cobb McCarty Preservation Award. Katy is currently on the Women's Committee for the National Museum of Women in the Arts and lives in Washington DC with her husband, youngest son, and twin daughters. Listen to Katy and Ellen as they discuss with (the other) Ellen and Jenn: • How they came about forming the Military Family Building Coalition. • Ellen’s background and infertility journey in the military healthcare system. • Katy’s journey and how she got involved. • The current status of fertility coverage in the military healthcare system. • What MFBC is doing to help families. • How you can help and support MFBC. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Military Family Building Coalition: https://www.militaryfamilybuilding.org/

David Dodge is a writer, researcher, and LGBTQ advocate with a special interest in non-traditional families, politics, arts and culture, and travel. He is a regular contributor to The New York Times, and has also written for HuffPost Queer Voices, The Advocate, Travel + Leisure, The Glass Magazine, and more. In 2014, he chronicled the start of his journey as a known sperm donor in "The Sperm Donor Diary," in a series of posts for The New York Times’ Motherlode Blog. David is the Executive Editor of Gay With Kids. He is based in New York City. Listen to David as he discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • His Harvard background and what led him to writing in the infertility world. • His experience as a Mormon gay man from Utah. • Becoming a sperm donor for his friends. • The continued relationship he has with the children from his donation. • His thoughts on kids of his own. • Some advice on being a sperm donor – get a lawyer! • His thoughts on anonymous vs known donations. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about David: https://www.bydaviddodge.com/

Abby Mercado is the Co-Founder & CEO of Best Shot, a patient’s companion in fertility treatments. A former venture capital investor, Abby conceptualized Best Shot after her frustrations with IVF medications and the mental health challenges she faced after her infertility diagnosis. Now, on the other side of her fertility experience, Abby is passionate about providing those who struggle to grow their families with the tools to help them succeed with confidence and grace. Listen to Abby as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Her early career successes in investments and venture capital. • The start of her infertility journey. • Realizing she made a serious mistake administering her fertility drugs, and miscarrying. • Later having a successful double embryo transfer, but strongly recommending against that path to others. • The complications she faced during the pregnancy. • The inspiration from her journey to start Best Shot. • The mission and rapid growth of Best Shot. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Best Shot: https://bestshotcare.com/

Brooke Kingston has been a volunteer with RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association and an advocate for accessible and affordable family building options for 10 years. After struggling with infertility, Brooke and her husband resolved to be a family of two. They reside in Peoria, Arizona with their three dogs and enjoy golf, cooking, and Netflix binges. Listen to Brooke as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Her background and the start of her infertility journey. • Their testing process and learning the results. • Starting to consider the idea of not having children. • Getting involved with RESOLVE and advocacy for infertility. • Her experience with her first advocacy day. • Feeling empowered with advocacy and finding her new calling. • How you can get involved. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about RESOLVE: https://resolve.org/

Gena is an attorney and Founder of connecting rainbows - an organization that connects members of the LGBTQIA+ community with attorneys who specialize in family formation and estate planning, as well as provides fertility resources so you can start, grow and protect your family. She and her wife have two children via Reciprocal IVF. Listen to Gena as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • “Shopping” for a sperm donor to grow their family. • Deciding on reciprocal IVF to conceive and carry their children. • Facing some complications in trying for their second child. • Overcoming the hurdles. • Her experience giving birth during COVID. • Her professional life and background (spoiler – she’s a lawyer!) • The legal process they had to overcome in their journey. • Forming her new business, Connecting Rainbows. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Connecting Rainbows: https://connectingrainbows.org/ Learn more about Gena: https://genajaffe.com/

Indra Lusero is founder of Elephant Circle and the Birth Rights Bar Association. Indra's family has been in the Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado area for generations. As a Queer, Genderqueer, Latinx parent rooted in this region, Indra is attuned to the importance of people on the margins and our role in leading the dismantling of oppressive systems to build a more equitable world. Indra helped pass legislation in Colorado to eliminate the shackling of incarcerated women during pregnancy and birth, to improve midwifery and birth center regulations, and to create more humane policies for families impacted by substance use. Indra also spearheaded the creation of "Birth Rights: A resource for everyday people to defend human rights during labor and birth." Listen to Indra as they discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • Their identity and expressing that in a comfortable, authentic way. • Their first relationship and already thinking of plans for children. • In college, actively envisioning their dream family – including a duplex with an inner door connecting the various parents and their living spaces. • Some of the legal questions and hurtles they faced. • Navigating conception with cross country travel and a yogurt cup. • The birth of their first child. • Moving forward with plans for a second child, but now with another dad in the mix. • The work of blending the different parts of their family. • How they decided on a last name for the kids. • Updates on their family and final thoughts. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Indra Lusero: https://www.elephantcircle.net/ Learn more about Indra's Birth Rights resource: https://birthrightsbar.org/

Jon Waldman is a multi-time published author, journalist, marketing and communications professional and photographer. From an early age, Jon knew that he wanted to enter the world of the written word and has scribed articles for the likes of the Toronto Sun, Winnipeg Free Press, The Hockey News, Winnipeg Men Magazine, CBS Sports and several others over his near 20-year career. In 2009, Jon published his first book, SLAM! Wrestling: Shocking Stories from the Squared Circle with Greg Oliver. This was quickly followed in 2011 by Got'em, Got'em, Need'em. In early 2015 his third book, He Shoots He Saves, was released, his third with ECW Press. Jon's fourth book, "100 Things Jets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die" released in 2015 with Triumph Books and has been his best seller thus far. In 2021, Jon's fifth book, "Swimming Aimlessly", will release with Simon and Schuster's imprint, Tiller Press. Inspired by his TEDx Talk, the book takes a deep look at men and infertility and, in part, tells the story his family has experienced. Listen to Jon as he discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • His sport-loving Canadian background and the beginning of trying to start a family. • Experiencing maca root and other natural remedies for fertility. • Candidly dealing with mental health challenges as part of the infertility journey. • Getting help and finding support. • A surprisingly effective aid…with a wagging tail! • The complicated intersection between religion and IVF. • His awkwardly hilarious experience providing a sperm sample. • Information on his new book, Swimming Aimlessly: One Man's Journey through Infertility and What We Can All Learn from It - coming out March 30, 2021! Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Buy Jon’s book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084GB8KBM/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i1

Since beginning her journalistic career in 1993 as an intern at CNN’s Larry King Live, Ginanne Brownell has covered stories in over 45 countries and on six continents. She worked on staff for CNN (Washington, DC) and Newsweek (London) and is currently a London-based freelance writer covering arts, culture, development and education stories. Her writing has been appeared in publications including the New York Times, Financial Times, CNN, Conde Nast Traveller, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, Scientific American, Salon, Foreign Policy and Washington Post. She has also done media consulting for UNICEF and J.K. Rowling’s Lumos Charity. Ginanne is the co-founder of she-files.com, a webzine highlighting stories about women written by women. Ginanne is in the process of completing two narrative non-fiction books. "How I Became Your Mother: My Global Surrogacy Journey", is both a personal memoir about becoming a parent through surrogacy and also a journalistic deep dive examining a number of debates, discussions and conversations taking place internationally about surrogacy. Meanwhile her book "Ghetto Classics: How a Youth Orchestra Changed a Nairobi Slum" examines the role that music can play in community development. Most importantly, she is the very proud mom of cheeky but exceedingly sweet three-year-old twins who were born via surrogacy in Illinois. Listen to Ginanne as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Her globe-trotting background. • Her infertility journey, including multiple memorable and heartbreaking failed transfers. • Her surrogacy and egg donor journey, with brutal honesty on the emotionally rocky road. • Writing a book about her journey and taking a deep dive into surrogacy worldwide. • The fascinating and unexpected aspects of surrogacy her research uncovered. • An update on her book. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Ginanne: www.ginannebrownell.com Learn about Ginanne’s magazine: https://she-files.com/

Jody Madeira is a professor of law and co-director of the Center for Law, Society & Culture at the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University. Her scholarly interests involve empirical research; the role of emotion in law; the sociology of law; law, medicine, and bioethics; and the Second Amendment. Her most recent book, Taking Baby Steps: How Patients and Fertility Clinics Collaborate in Conception (University of California Press, 2018), takes readers inside the infertility experience, from dealing with infertility-related emotions to forming treatment relationships with medical professionals, confronting difficult decisions, and negotiating informed consent. Based on a wealth of qualitative and quantitative data (130 patient interviews, 83 interviews with reproductive medical professionals, and 267 patient surveys), Madeira investigates how women, men, and their care providers can utilize trust to collaboratively negotiate infertility’s personal, physical, spiritual, ethical, medical, and legal minefields. Listen to Professor Madeira as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Her background and how she got involved in the field. • How own experience with IVF. • The start of her research on infertility stereotypes. • Things that surprised her in her research. • Her interest and role in the case of Dr. Donald Cline and similar “doctor donors”. • Researching the closure in infertility fraud cases. • Her research and thoughts on “sperm tourism” Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Jody: https://law.indiana.edu/about/people/bio.php?name=madeira-jody-l Learn more about Jody’s latest book: https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Baby-Steps-Collaborate-Conception/dp/0520293053

Like many women, Anna Buxton’s journey to motherhood was far more complicated and painful than she had ever realized was possible. Two missed miscarriages and subsequent surgeries to remove the pregnancies left Anna with severe scarring of the womb -- a condition known as Asherman’s Syndrome. Five operations over 16 months failed to correct the scarring and Anna was told that she would never be able to carry a pregnancy. Anna is now Mum to three children born through surrogacy. She is also part of the team behind a new non-profit UK surrogacy organization that is doing things differently – My Surrogacy Journey. About My Surrogacy Journey: My Surrogacy Journey is a UK surrogacy organization unlike anything that exists. We offer the most extensive emotional, practical, and logistical support that has ever been available to intended parents, surrogates, and egg donors for both domestic and international surrogacy. Listen to Anna as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Her complicated and medically harrowing attempts to conceive. • After multiple miscarriages and surgeries, the decision to move to surrogacy. • The restrictions, and exceedingly long wait times, with surrogacy in the UK. • Looking at surrogacy in other countries. • Moving forward with surrogacy in India. • Going through a second journey in the US. • A double embryo transfer and twins. • Being inspired to give back and get involved with My Surrogacy Journey. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about My Surrogacy Journey: https://www.mysurrogacyjourney.com

Professor Zsuzsa Berend teaches sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles and is the academic administrator of the sociology departmental Honors program. For over a decade, she has been doing ethnographic research on an online surrogacy support forum and published on surrogacy-related topics in Medical Anthropology, Sociological Forum, and American Anthropologist. Zsuzsa’s book, “The Online World of Surrogacy” presents a methodologically innovative ethnography of SurroMomsOnline.com, the largest surrogacy support website in the United States. Surrogates’ views emerge from the stories, debates, and discussions that unfold online. The Online World of Surrogacy documents these collective meaning-making practices and explores their practical, emotional, and moral implications. In doing so, the book works through themes of interest across the social sciences, including definitions of parenthood, the symbolic role of money, reproductive loss, altruism, and the moral valuation of relationships. Listen to Zsuzsa as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Her academic path from 19th-century spinsters to 21st century surrogates. • Her decade-long research following an online surrogacy forum. • Her experience with online “trolls”. • The controversial and sensitive discussion topics she observed. • How views and procedures evolved as her research progressed. • An update on her research and what happened with SurroMomsOnline.com. • Her closing thoughts and insights. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Pick up your copy of The Online World of Surrogacy: The Online World of Surrogacy (Fertility, Reproduction and Sexuality: Social and Cultural Perspectives, 35): 9781785332746: Medicine & Health Science Books @ Amazon.com

Bud Lake is originally from New Jersey and moved to Madrid, Spain in 2001 to learn Spanish. Almost 20 years later he is still in Spain and now married with children. Bud met Manuel in Madrid in 2010 and moved to Valencia to live with him in 2011. In 2012 they were married and in 2013 their first son Álvaro was born via surrogacy in India. In 2015 their daughter Carmen was born in Thailand. Every surrogacy journey is its own special and unique journey. Listen to Bud as he discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • His background and moving to Spain. • Meeting the love of his life. • Trying to grow their family through international surrogacy. • Their first journey through India. • Some of the bumps along the way. • Starting a second journey with Thailand. • Thailand surrogacy scandals and political unrest affecting their journey. • The birth of their second child and meeting the surrogate for the first time. • The start of a parental rights nightmare. • Heading to court when the surrogate wanted to keep the baby. • A happy conclusion. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Check out Bud and Manuel’s website: http://www.twogaypapas.com/ Follow Bud and Manuel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twogaypapas/

Dr. Guy Ringler is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. He is a proud partner with California Fertility Partners. As a child, Dr. Ringler grew up in suburban Detroit, the son of a barber and a school bus driver, with his three sisters. He graduated with honors from the University of Michigan, followed by medical school in Detroit at Wayne State University, where he received the class award for highest honors in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Ringler completed post-graduate training at the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania, where he received awards for his research on placental function. Following years of clinical study and basic science research, Dr. Ringler moved west in 1990, to practice reproductive medicine with the founding physicians of California Fertility Partners. Dr. Ringler has established a loyal patient following in Southern California and has developed an international reputation for expertise in reproductive medicine – especially surrogacy and third-party reproduction. His patients travel from Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa for his medical care. Dr. Ringler was one of the world’s first physicians to help gay men have babies through egg donation and surrogacy. He is committed to helping all members of the LGBTQ community fulfill their dreams of having children and building families. Listen to Dr. Ringler as he discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • What led him to the assisted reproductive technologies field. • The evolution of fertility treatment throughout his career. • The stark differences between treatment and success rates then and now. • Making the choice to help patients refused by other doctors. • His thoughts on the new Supreme Court nomination. • The progress America has made for gay rights. • Newer family building options, such as reciprocal IVF. • Stories over the years from his practice. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Dr. Ringler: https://www.californiafertilitypartners.com/

Gloria has a unique combination of interpersonal and technical skills, having been both an events planner and an IT specialist. Over the years, she has executed and designed trade shows with clients that include high-profile celebrities, Fortune 500 corporations for IT World Canada, and OutsourceWorld LLC. Gloria now manages a team of case managers and heads donor and surrogacy programs at Donor Concierge. Gloria has worked in the fertility field since 2013 and is an expert on egg donation, gestational surrogacy, and fertility care management. Her warm and enthusiastic personality, along with flawless precision and attention to detail, has helped contribute to her success and client satisfaction. Gloria speaks fluent Mandarin and English. She is married with three young children. Listen to Gloria as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Her unique career path leading to Donor Concierge. • Handling the cultural differences working with Asian clients. • Navigating the language barrier. • The fascinating differences in gift giving culture. • How recent severe travel restrictions have impacted her clients’ journeys. • Tips and advice for anyone looking to work with international clients. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Donor Concierge: https://www.donorconcierge.com/