Fulfilling Your Family Building Dream

Barry is a partner at Wesley Gryk Solicitors and his practice deals with the full range of immigration and nationality issues. He has particular expertise in applications based on family life and has represented many children born following international surrogacy arrangements. He is the author of the immigration law chapter in ‘Surrogacy Law, Practice and Policy in England and Wales’ and tutor of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association course on surrogacy and immigration law. The 2023 edition of Legal 500 states: “Barry O’Leary – utterly brilliant for surrogacy related and nationality law issues.” 

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.

Dana is a lawyer practicing since 2003. Dana specializes in surrogacy and assisted reproductive technology.  She is the founder and  legal adviser of Lotus Surrogacy as well as the owner of an Israeli law firm. Dana has handled the legal and  logistical aspects of over 700 surrogacy cases over the last 17 years.  She has vast experience in solving the legal issues that may arise during surrogacy abroad. With long prior experience in India, Nepal & Ukraine, Lotus have launched a new legally secure program for heterosexual couples in Kazakhstan as well as in Georgia.

Complimentary One on One Consultations are available before, during or after the event. To book please email Dana@lotussurrogacy.com

Dean E. Masserman is a highly experienced and respected trial and family law attorney. He has handled in excess of 40 jury trials, 100 court trials and an estimated 5000 court hearings over the course of his 28 year career in both federal and state court.

Mr. Masserman serves as chairperson of the firm’s family law and complex litigation practices, and also acts as a mediator in dissolution matters. Mr. Masserman also counsels physicians and IVF clinics regarding their guidelines and protocols to avoid litigation.

Mr. Vorzimer and Mr. Masserman were also part of a small group of attorneys who assisted Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes in drafting AB1217 which codified the current best legal practices regarding surrogacy agreements in California, and was added to the California Family Code as Section 7962.

Rosa is a Medical Doctor trained in Italy and the U.K. and also a qualified Nutritionist (UK), a Holistic Fertility Consultant and surrogacy programme co-ordinator in Thessaloniki. Rosa has many years of experience at Senior Level in managing International patients seeking cross-border Fertility Care and Surrogacy. She is Italian and speaks fluently English, Italian and Greek and has good knowledge of Spanish and French.

Dr. Dixon is the Founder, CEO and Medical Director of Anova Fertility & Reproductive Health which opened in 2016 as Canada’s newest full-service fertility and IVF center. It is home to the first next-generation embryology laboratory in Canada and is a leader in innovation, education, and communication for high quality humanized fertility and reproductive care.

Dr. Dixon is a graduate of McGill University’s School of Medicine. She completed her postgraduate training at the University of Toronto in Obstetrics and Gynecology and then went on to complete a 3-year sub-specialty with The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Vermont to obtain an Accredited Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Today she is a member of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center and is also Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto.

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.

Dr. Vuk Jovanovic is an internationally respected fertility specialist who focuses on providing exceptional care to the LGBTQ community in Southern California, with the desire to have a child or children of his own.  Dr Jovanovic completed his postgraduate medical training at Duke University and Columbia University in New York City. He is double board-certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and OB/Gyn in both, in the United States and Europe.

Dr. Jovanovic ranks among the top fertility doctors in Los Angeles. Beyond providing services in Southern California, many patients travel from all over the world to seek his expertise as a reproductive care provider.  He is constantly working to find new ways to maximize patient success rates and use the latest technology and optimized treatment protocols

Dr. Jovanovic is a member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) and actively attends meetings on both continents.  Apart from his expertise and excellent success rates, he will provide compassionate and personal care to every single client. He has helped numerous couples in the United States and across the world achieve the dream of parenthood and is happy to serve his patients in Southern California and beyond.

Ester Nunez is the owner of SudAmerica Surrogacy, an agency which has supported South Americans, UK and French couples with the help of a multi-lingual team. She is a family and surrogate lawyer and a partner in Abogados Numa. Ester is a member of the Bar Association of the City of Buenos Aires and the Bar Association of San Isidro as well as the Argentine Association of Lawyers for Gestational Surrogacy. Ester is a regular participant in congresses, seminars, courses and conferences, is the author of several legal publications and is fluent in Spanish, English & French.

Karen Holden is the founder of A City Law Firm – a Legal 500 firm awarded for its progressive work in surrogacy and alternative families work including international adoption , co-parenting and donor agreements. It’s been a leader in this field since inception . Karen was invited & given freedom of the city for her pioneering equality work which is an accolade rare for women in London. Her team handle surrogacy in the UK, Canada , USA and have assisted complex arrangements in the Ukraine , Germany and recently Greece . They support you from thinking about surrogacy ; to starting your journey to the final legal elements in the U.K. granting you full parental rights . Also should anything go wrong Karen steps in and will assist with surrogacy litigation successfully gaining parental rights when things have gone wrong . Recent cases include : A Ukraine surrogacy denied , intended parents separate during the process and a U.K. surrogate refusing to sign the parental order all successfully resolved

Email karen@acitylawfirm.com to book a free consultation at the event

As an experienced Surrogate and Certified Doula, Kendra can help guide incoming Surrogates, answer their questions, and lead them through their journey with passion and understanding. She enjoys any opportunity to educate and speak to anyone about surrogacy and doula work and the blessings of such an experience.

A young, brave, selfless woman who’s dedicated to helping others grow their families. She has a 4-year-old son – Sandro, the main motivation for her to become a surrogate mother is Sandro to give her child a bright future.

Monica has dedicated her life to guiding and supporting Intended Parents and surrogates through their surrogacy journeys. Monica is the Agency Director of Accel Conceptions, she is open-minded and leads with her heart – the epitome of compassion and fierce advocacy. She has two decades of industry experience and nursing background, there is no such thing as a silly question — seriously, just ask her!

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

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.

Ben and his husband Joao embarked on their surrogacy journey in June 2020. They opted for a programme in Mexico, which was close to their home in Texas.  Now they have a beautiful 16-month-old little girl, but the process was not without its challenges. Since returning to the UK with Joao and Gabriella in April 2022, Ben has been working with other surrogate parents to ease their journey, based on the experience they gained.

Charlie and Gillan Wilson engaged in Canadian surrogacy with the help of Canadian Surrogacy Consulting and Canadian lawyer Cindy Wasser. Their journey has been one of ups and downs, stretching over a couple of years, but ultimately with a very happy outcome. When these guys started out it all felt very complicated, with lots of different introductions to lots of different agencies, legal processes and medical personnel. It all felt a bit overwhelming, but every person t hey met along their journey was wonderfully welcoming, supportive, understanding, helpful and seemed to genuinely care about them, doing all they could to ensure a happy outcome. Charlie’s son Milo was born in Nova Scotia in December 2022.  Charlie will share details of the altruistic Canadian process and what they learned along the way

Christian Bair and his husband Stefan made the decision in 2018 that they no longer wanted it to be just the two of them in life. They started their fertility journey at the beginning of 2019 Christian engaged in California USA and found a great clinic with a great team.  They were fortunate to find a great surrogate who they are still in regular contact with. On April 20, 2020 their daughter was born in Kings County California. Based on Christian’s experience he likes to help others pursuing surrogacy. Christian is the European Support Manager for Pacific Surrogacy & Egg Donation.

Clair & John Litchfield engaged with Lotus Surrogacy in Ukraine to create family and their child was born in May 2022 in Uzghorod, three months after the war broke out. Clair will share her incredible journey.