Fulfilling Your Family Building Dream

Brooke has worked within the fertility industry for 15 years with a focus on donor and surrogacy cases.  Brooke oversees the egg, sperm and embryo donor recruitment program, ADDAM and EEVE donor banks as well as the national surrogacy program.

Cindy Wasser practiced as a Canadian Criminal Defence lawyer from 1987 until 2008. In that year, she  became a mum to the first of two daughters through an egg donor and gestational surrogacy. This journey led her to her legal specialisation in Fertility Law. Cindy provides legal advice and services to intended parents, Canadian carriers and donors. Cindy has also provided legal advice to fertility medical practitioners and fertility consultant agencies. She has lectured in the area of fertility law at medico-legal conferences and hospitals.

Dr. Bronwyn Devine is a gynaecologist and fertility specialist based in Sydney. Having graduated with an MBBS (Hons 1) from The University of Sydney, Bronwyn worked at Westmead Hospital and was admitted to the training program in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She completed the final two years of her fellowship at RHW in Sydney and moved to Canberra with her young family to begin life as a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist. There she worked for Canberra Fertility Centre as Clinical Director and at ISIS Fertility. Bronwyn has completed a Masters of Reproductive Health (UNSW) and Postgraduate Certificate in Public Health (Sexual Health) (University of Melbourne). She is a professional affiliate of the Australian Chapter of Sexual Health Physicians of the Royal Australian College of Physicians.

Bronwyn’s other interests include Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Congenital Anomalies of the Female Reproductive Tract. She is passionate about improving access to ART services for members of the LGBTIQ community.

Dr. Librach is the Director of the CReATe Fertility Centre.  A graduate of University of Toronto, he completed undergrad, graduate and a specialty degree in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Dr. Librach went on to spend 3 years at the University of California in San Francisco becoming a board certified Reproductive Endocrinologist and Infertility Specialist. Since 1991 Dr. Librach has been an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Toronto. He is a Co-Director of the University of Toronto Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Clinic. He is the principal investigator in various clinical and embryology studies and researcher at Women’s College Hospital and University of Toronto. Dr. Librach has played an active role in presenting abstracts at various conferences and meetings. He is frequently interviewed for television, radio and print media.

Dr. Said Daneshmand is an internationally recognized Fertility specialist with extensive experience in complex IVF cases, as well as Egg Donor/Surrogacy Third party care.

Dr. Daneshmand serves on the board of several Surrogacy Advocacy groups. He has collaborated to develop in vitro fertilization (IVF) protocols to improve pregnancy rates, including PTEC (post-thaw extended culture), which was one of the most successful IVF regimens that led to a surge in Frozen embryo transfers, as a means to maximize endometrial receptivity. These groundbreaking findings have been published in the internationally respected medical journal, Fertility and Sterility, where Dr. Daneshmand also served as a reviewer.

Dr. Daneshmand completed his fellowship and residency at UCLA. He is specialty board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and sub-specialty board certified in Reproductive Endocrinology.

He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Eileen Pike Medical School Valedictorian Award, the PCRS Fellowship and Practicing Physician Research Award, and the ASRM STAR AWARD, awarded to a select group of research scientists who have presented their original research at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine Conference for 10+ consecutive years. He has served as the President of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society (Iota Chapter) and is a member of the DeCherney Society, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). Dr. Daneshmand speaks French, Spanish and Farsi.

Intended parents have travelled from more than 40 countries in 2019 alone to seek his help in their journey to parenthood.  He was the Principal Investigator in the Multi-Center Global research trial of non-invasive PGT-A, the latest technique for assessing embryonic genetic health without the need for embryo biopsy.

Dr Uliana started her professional career as coordinating first international cooperation in Ukraine based on import of sperm and export embryos which developed into numerous international partnerships and has become recognized worldwide. She studied medicine in Lviv National Medical University and practiced in such countries as Ireland, Israel and Great Britain. Dr Uliana has over 12 years of experience in the IVF field, performed over 3000 treatment cycles for patients from 32 countries.

Emma Solly is a graduate of the University of Queensland, where she studied Biomedical Science. Following graduation, she worked in private pathology for seven years in London, UK, until her return to Australia in 2011. Since that time, Emma has been prominently involved in all aspects of service provision of the DNALabs laboratory, including administrative, operational and scientific components. Emma is the Administration Manager of DNALabs, a NATA-accredited DNA parentage testing reporter, and has an extensive and detailed knowledge base in the fields of relationship and parentage testing. Emma’s long-standing experience has seen her facilitate DNA testing for surrogacy cases internationally, including in Thailand, India, Nepal, Cambodia, Canada, USA, Ukraine and Georgia.

Kathryn is the co-owner and founder of The Fertility Agency. A parent through surrogacy herself, Kathryn understands just how much goes into the journey. heart-wrenching, & expensive Kathyrn wished she had met others who could have advised her. What was missing  was an agency that would look out equally for the best interests of the Intended Parents and the Gestational Surrogates. Agency for Surrogacy Solutions, Inc. was her response. Surrogacy and pregnancy are emotionally turbulent, and Kathryn hopes to make the experience as simple and as free of anxiety as possible for everyone involved.

Complimentary One on One Consultations are available. 

Lauri’s daughter was born via surrogacy in May 2005. Eighteen months later, the same surrogate gave birth to Lauri’s son. Lauri has experienced the depression and heartache of infertility herself. Like Kathryn, she too, had a career in television before infertility consumed her life. She was a producer/director/writer. But to Lauri, there is nothing more rewarding and ultimately as important as bringing a child who is so very wanted into the world.

Natia has eight years of working experience with number of intended parents who have successfully completed surrogacy and egg donation programs in Georgia. Her activities include full program management and coordination, including donor and surrogate management for the successful completion of a defined program.

Over her years of journey in the field, she has successfully implemented more than 2000 egg donation and surrogacy programs. 95% of the clients involved in the programs are international patients from different countries, most of the couples participating in the programs are from Israel, China, USA, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Canada, Australia, Greece, Spain, India and other countries. Many years of work experience helps her to determine the couple’s priorities, identify their needs and help them achieve the desired result. Free consultations are available at: N.janadze@reproart.ge

Rich combines his passion for family formation with 20 years of experience in business and technology law. He has been published in the American Journal of Family Law and the Australian Family Law Journal; he has lectured at numerous legal and family-building conferences around the U.S.;  and he has been featured as a fertility law expert on National Public Radio, Parenting Magazine Live, and other radio shows. He is also an experienced fitness instructor, triathlete, a former paramedic, and board member of a medical device company. Rich and his husband are the proud parents of twin boys, through egg donation and surrogacy.

In addition to his busy legal practice, Rich devotes numerous volunteer hours to advancing the field of ART law and is a dedicated advocate for LGBT intended parents and families. His community service includes chairing the American Bar Association (ABA) Family Law Section Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology from 2013-2018, which played a leading role in developing model legislation to assist states in regulating assisted reproductive technology medical providers and donor and surrogacy agencies and providing guidance on resolutions approved by the American Bar on cross-border parentage and surrogacy issues as well as citizenship for children born abroad via ART to U.S. citizen intended parents.

Complimentary One on One Consultations are available during the event. To book please email Rich: rich@iflg.net

Richard and his partner Steven are fathers to twins born via US surrogacy in September 2012.  Richard has become an advocate helping prospective parents learn more about surrogacy.  In doing so he aims to help parents make informed decisions from the outset. Richard also helps US fertility clinics reach out to prospective parents in the UK. He has written a step-by-step guide to US surrogacy and has written on surrogacy for We Are Family Magazine.  He is also the author of www.guidetosurrogacy.com and is actively involved within the gay dad’s community.  Richard lives between London and Norfolk.Complimentary One on One Consultations are Available with our expert speakers. To book your expert speaker contact them via rwestoby@sdfertility.com

Sam Everingham is the Global Director of Growing Families.  He has become one of the globe’s foremost commentators and researchers on donor & surrogacy trends and capacity. Through conferences, seminars and consulting he has assisted over a thousand singles and couples to plan safe and reliable routes to building families through surrogacy & donor IVF.

Sam has two daughters, Zoe & Ruby, via surrogacy and therefore is very aware of the issues, struggles and frustrations along the surrogacy path.  With a background in public health and research he is also the author of several books.

Sarah has practised solely in family law since the commencement of her career nearly 20 years ago, and has been an Accredited Specialist in Family Law through the Law Society of NSW since 2005.  She also is an accredited arbitrator, regular presenter of ongoing legal education papers on family law to the legal profession and is on the panel of lawyers appointed to act as the Independent Child’s Lawyer in proceedings under the Family Law Act.  Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers are experts in surrogacy, having assisted many Australian and international intended parents and surrogates. Sarah led the team responsible for the landmark NSW decision for the first same-sex couple to be registered as parents on their child’s birth certificate, after that child was born through a surrogacy arrangement.

Complimentary One on One Consultations are available during the event. To book please email Sarah: sarah.bevan@sbfamilylawyers.com.au

Tamari is an experienced international fertility manager,  with a long history working in local and international health care industry, a Medical degree and a Master’s degree in Public Health and Health Policy. She initially ran programs solely in Georgia and has recently opened a groundbreaking surrogacy and donor program in Argentina. Her specific interest is in the inter-dependencies of global and national practices, in how policies are written  based on different regional contexts and translated into real medical solution to ensure better health outcomes.

Complimentary One on One Consultations are available. To book please email tamarikachlishvili@yahoo.com

After multiple failed IVF attempts in Melbourne, Angela and Rahul turned to San Diego Fertility Center in the US to create their daughter with the help of donor IVF, five years ago. Subsequently, due to an autoimmune condition, they required surrogacy and worked with US surrogacy attorney Rich Vaughn and San Diego Clinic in creating further embryos. Their fist embryo transfer was successful and in Feb 2022 they welcomed Bodhi six weeks early in Los Angeles. Amgela will share their experience and recommendations for future parents

Hello and Happy New Year from our little family to yours (Ben, Dan and baby Michael). Four years ago, we attended a Growing Families conference in Melbourne as we had known for the longest time, we wanted to become parents, but didn’t know where to start. In March 2022 we welcomed our son Michael who was born in Nicosia, Cyrus by our beautiful Surrogate. He was 7 weeks preemie and in the NICU for 12 days. Fast forward 10 months and he is a little superstar who is thriving and the best thing that ever happened to us, becoming Michael’s Dad’s! We took the extra steps to have our parental responsibility recognised through the courts in Australia after Michael’s birth with the help of Aboorva Sundar from Sarah Bevan Lawyers, this was to give us peace of mind and allow us to do stepparent adoption in the future.

Blake, and his twin brother Joel have just turned 13 years old. They also have an older brother, Chandler, who is 14. After being born via a “related” surrogate in San Diego in the US, Blake and his brothers have lived in Australia since their birth. Blake is proud to have represented his school, Oxley College in several sporting events, including athletics and swimming.

Megan started this journey in November 2018 when she offered to be a surrogate for her cousin David and his husband Will when discussing future family planning. Megan has four children with her husband Jorge (Alexander 16, Isabella 14, Gisele 11 & Mateo 3ys). While they lost some time due to covid, after three years, four transfers from embryos created with the help of egg donor Karla, Megan fell pregnant in April 2021 with Baby Harrison  arriving just in time for Christmas (23/12/21). 

Melanie had known one of her intended parents, Warwick for over 20 years. She first met his partner Jason around 4 years ago. They reconnected some time after Warwicks Facebook post about his desire to find a surrogate. Mel had thought about surrogacy previously for her brother and his wife. Mel is married to Steve and they live in Wollongong with two children. All them spent time getting to know each other and after counseling and legals, their second transfer was successful. Me’s pregnancy had plenty of ups and downs, but nothing they couldn’t manage. She birthed Jetson via home birth on 3 January 2022 after approx 5 hours of labour. Mel will discuss what she learned along the way.

Like many others, Sydney couple Michael and Iolanda liken their surrogacy journey to a rollercoaster ride full of emotions, energy, excitement and such a thrill. They were blessed to meet their angel surrogate through a Canadian Agency and from day one,  just clicked.  Marc  was born in January 2020 – healthy, happy and absolutely gorgeous. He was the best thing to come out of 2020. Marc just celebrated his 3^rd birthday and their second journey resulted in a baby girl Gia – now  8 months old.

Todd and Phil commenced their surrogacy journey back in 2016 when Todd’s mum attended a conference and met Lauri and Kathryn.  From the moment they started working with Agency for Surrogacy solutions Inc. (now The Fertility Agency) the process was fantastic! Having the support of an agency whose team had also either used a surrogate or was a surrogate themselves made everything so much easier to understand. Their first son was born in July 2018 and their second child  in 2022. Phil will discuss what they learned

Warwick & Jason started looking into surrogacy about 2018, joining surrogacy groups, attending events and posting on Facebook letting friends and family  know they were seeking two amazing women to help. They were overwhelmed with offers of eggs and approximately a year after the post, a surrogate Mel reached out. They worked with IFV Australia and there were hurdles. Covid dampened their ability to visit Mel and her family more often. However they were successful on the 2nd transfer. As Jason is a lawyer he prepared all the legal documents, including the parentage orders, but another specialist law firm looked  over it.

Zoe is nearly 12 years old, and was born via egg donor surrogacy in India at a time when hundreds of Australian singles and couples were relying on Indian surrogacy. She lives with her dads Sam & Phil in Sydney. She will talk about growing up without a mum, and telling friends and teachers about where she came from.