Julie Eshelman is the Founder, CEO, and President of Building Military Families Network where she took her struggles and lack of support and access to information in family building and created an organization to fill that gap for military and veteran families. Her own family’s experiences with infertility and the frustrations resulting from a lack of insurance coverage and a support network led her to advocate and launch a nonprofit for the change she desperately wants to see for the next generation of military and veteran families. Julie was named the 2022 Armed Forces Insurance Fort Leavenworth Spouse of the Year for her awareness, advocacy, and leadership in infertility and military family building.

Building Military Families Network is a 501c3 organization with a mission to provide an empowering and supportive network to military and veteran families navigating the challenges in the family-building process through support groups, education, and resources. Their Education Center and Resource Library empower military and veteran families with all the information and tools they need on their journey to parenthood. The Support Group Program provides families with peer support and builds community. Their advocacy efforts are focused on increasing insurance coverage and improving access to all family-building options for military and veteran families. Building Military Families Network is a beacon of hope for building military families.

Listen as Julie shares with Ellen and Jenn:

• Her journey to becoming an infertility warrior.
• Meeting her husband in college. Knowing nothing about military life but following him into it. 
• Trying to conceive for over a year and recognizing they should seek medical care. But the fertility specialist near them had a 12 month wait list and they had orders to move to Arizona. 
• Going through all the diagnostic testing while her husband was deployed. 
• Experiencing a miscarriage as they were driving across the country.
• Starting from scratch with a new fertility specialist, going through all the diagnostic testing again.
• Enduring the last-minute cancellation of an egg retrieval due to the COVID shutdown. Then, after restarting, suffering from ovarian hyperstimulation.
• Eventually getting to their rainbow baby. 
• Finding RESOLVE, signing up last minute for Federal Advocacy Day.
• Finding advocacy to be therapeutic and empowering.
• Starting the Building Military Families Network to do more for military families struggling with building their families. 

Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903.

Learn more about Building Military Families Network:

buildingmilitaryfamiliesnetwork.org

Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ 

Learn more about our surrogacy agency: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ 

Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch 

Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ 

As members of the LGBTQ+ community, Kristina and Sol always knew they would need fertility treatments to build their family. However, dual infertility diagnoses made their journey even more complex. This experience fueled their passion for advocacy, inspiring them to champion for expanded access to reproductive technology, fair donor-conceived laws, and protections for LGBTQ+ families. Kristina furthers this mission in her role as Chair of Colorado Fertility Advocates.

After more than a decade of fertility treatments—including IVF, RIVF, and Donor Embryo—their family is now complete. They are proud parents of three wonderful children: two boys and a girl, ages 11, 8, and 3.

Beyond their advocacy, Kristina and Sol are deeply committed to advancing health equity for marginalized communities, increasing the visibility of diverse leaders—including Latino, LGBTQ+, and underserved communities—and championing reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ equality. Kristina serves on the boards of the LGBTQ+ Heritage Project for the United Methodist Church and the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce. Sol, who is Latino and bilingual, is a Board Member for Project Worthmore and a former member of Commerce City’s DEI Commission and Cultural Council.

Professionally, Kristina has built a successful 20-year career in Marketing and Strategic Communications, specializing in the healthcare and fintech industries. Sol is also an accomplished leader, with expertise in operations and project management across community health centers, government and educational organizations, and, most recently, a nationwide private equity-backed dental company.

In their free time, Kristina and Sol love attending and coaching their kids’ countless sports and activities, exploring Colorado through hikes and scenic Sunday drives, enjoying live music, cheering on Sol’s hometown teams (the Padres and Chargers), road-tripping, listening to audiobooks, playing board games, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Listen as Sol and Kristina share with Ellen and Jenn:

• Kristina splitting with her partner of 12 years when she was 6 weeks pregnant. Not the best timing!
• 3 months post-delivery, Kristina thinking about dating again. 
• Messaging with Sol and connecting right away on their passion for advocacy. Sol not being scared off by Kristina having a three-month-old. 
• With Kristina’s first pregnancy, going through IUIs and it just not working. Then finding her egg count was not where it should be. 
• Failed embryo transfer, then success. 
• After Kristina’s egg quality issues, opting for reciprocal IVF with Sol’s eggs.
• But Sol also experienced egg issues – 5 eggs retrieved, 1 embryo.
• Navigating the cultural issues with Sol’s family.
• Moving from California to Colorado and knowing they wanted another child.
• Extensively looking into adoption but ultimately choosing embryo donation. 
• Being really open and honest with their children about their origin stories. 
• Loving the family they have built and the many paths they took to get there.  

Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903.

Follow Kristina and Sol on Instagram: @kristina_on_insta + @allo10

Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ 

Learn more about our surrogacy agency: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ 

Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch 

Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ 

Shea Bart Andreone is a writer, speaker, and author. She is also a mother who knows the agony that can come with trying to have a baby. Shea’s journey to becoming a mother to two healthy children was punctuated by pain, hospitalizations, and death. Carry On offers a candid, intrepid look into the real stories of the many people for whom this universal drive to start a family doesn’t come easily. These stories are an exploration of these people’s love, hope, and desperation to keep trying.

Shea’s writing, from her own blog (Twig-Hugger) to numerous articles in mom and parent-oriented platforms (The Next Family, Motherfigure, LA Parent, Your Teen Magazine, and Chicken Soup For The Soul) has given her views and opinions platform to reach interested and like-minded eyes and ears.

Shea has been a featured speaker at Expressing Motherhood, a live storytelling event held in major cities across the United States. She has shared her story about living with Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG). Shea dealt with HG for all three of my pregnancies, and participated in research studies through HER, the world’s largest network of HG survivors and experts.

She’s been featured on podcasts, including “Single Vs. Married”, where she spoke about natural childbirth, medical interventions traditionally utilized during childbirth, and why she opted to have as few interventions as possible during her own labors and deliveries. Shea discussed the months of trying to conceive, illness, and suffering that finally resulted in giving birth to a healthy baby girl.

Before having children, Shea was a competitive and then professional figure skater. Hailing from New York, Shea acted off-Broadway for nearly a decade. She then moved to the West Coast and continued to act, in TV, films, and theater. While Shea loves NY and travels back often, LA is where her husband, children, dog and her call home.

Listen as Shea shares with Ellen and Jenn:

• Teaching senior water aerobics classes and spending time as a professional ice skater, among her many talents and activities.
• Meeting her husband and both knowing right away they wanted to try for kids. 
• Heading to the doctor when it wasn’t happening and being quickly scheduled for fibroid removal surgery.
• Finding herself pregnant before surgery and being told she just had to wait to see whether the pregnancy or fibroid won out. 
• The pregnancy won out, but then extreme sickness hit. Hyperemesis, not being able to keep food down, losing weight to the point of the doctor threatening hospitalization, and a terrifying adverse reaction to anti-nausea medication.
•  Second time around trying a Zofran pump to deal with the nausea but losing the pregnancy. 
• Looking for something to help with the healing. Trying sewing but ultimately turning to writing. 
• Connecting with a community that had struggled with starting their families. Recognizing the universal need for people to talk about their experiences. Writing her book, Carry On, to bring those stories together and to others.

Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903.

Learn more about Shea Bart Andreone and her book Carry On: https://www.sheabartandreone.com/about-shea-bart-andreone

Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ 

Learn more about our surrogacy agency: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ 

Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch

Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Dr. Julie Bindeman graduated from George Washington University and is the co-owner of Integrative Therapy of Greater Washington in Rockville, Maryland. Her specialty is in the field of Reproductive Psychology, where she actively writes, lectures, and presents. She is an approved consultant in EMDR through EMDRIA as well as a facilitator for basic training with The Touchstone Institute. She has served on several committees within the Mental Health Professional Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and was elected in 2021 to its Executive Committee. She previously served as a Board Member of the Maryland Psychological Association for over 10 years. Dr. Bindeman is a member of multiple organizations focused on Maternal and Reproductive Mental Health and was appointed by the Governor of Maryland to serve on its Maternal Mental Health Task Force. She was awarded the Karl Heiser Award through the American Psychological Association for her legislative efforts on behalf of psychology. Dr. Bindeman has published several chapters and articles pertaining to Reproductive Psychology and is the editor of the book “The Mental Health Clinician’s Handbook for Abortion Care” that was released September, 2024.

Listen as Julie shares with Ellen and Jenn:

• Coming on the podcast for her third time! Check out Episodes 136 and 166. 
• What is a polyamorous family? The mindfulness and intentionality of polycules. 
• Best approaches for providers to understand family dynamics. Hint: open-ended questions! 
• The struggle with family building not fitting into well-understood pathways.
• Thinking through a plan if current family dynamics change, especially as to parenting and gamete and embryo control. 
• The role of the mental health professional, as a source of support rather than a gatekeeper.

Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903.

Learn more about Dr. Bindeman’s practice: http://www.GreaterWashingtonTherapy.com

Read Dr. Bindeman’s book: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-61453-8

Follow Dr. Bindeman on social media: https://www.facebook.com/drbindeman; https://bsky.app/profile/drjuliebindeman.bsky.social

Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ 

Learn more about our surrogacy agency: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ 

Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch 

Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ 

Zach French is an attorney with experience in technology startups and business development, and most recently served as an executive at SeedTrust. Zach’s connection to the ART world began when he and his wife, Alexandra, embarked on their own surrogacy journey after Alexandra’s battle with breast cancer. The tremendous mental and financial toll from their journey led them to establish The Surrogacy Foundation (formerly Gift of Surrogacy). Zach left SeedTrust in February to become full-time Executive Director of the nonprofit. Zach and TSF are on a mission to expand access to surrogacy by propelling it into the mainstream using a collaborative approach to build a sustainable grant program and technology-enabled education and support.

Listen as Zach shares with Ellen and Jenn:

• Coming on the podcast for a second time! Check out Episode 177 to hear the first. 
• Zach and his wife’s experience with cancer, and then surrogacy to have their child. 
• Starting The Gift of Surrogacy to help others. Navigating it on the side but then Zach being encouraged to dedicate himself full-time to leading the cause. 
• Raising enough money from the first fundraiser in 2023 to be able to award a $100,000 grant!
• Focusing on their why and their values.
• Creating a non-profit for tomorrow’s donors. Not your grandparents’ non-profit.
• Making their events truly memorable. Including their upcoming event on February 8, 2025. Masquerade theme, with some surprises up their sleeves!

Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903.

Learn more about The Surrogacy Foundation: https://www.giftofsurrogacyfoundation.org/

Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ 

Learn more about our surrogacy agency: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ 

Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch 

Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ 

Elizabeth Carr is the first baby born via in vitro fertilization in the United States.

In the media since 3 cells old, Elizabeth is a passionate advocate for those fighting for fertility rights. From battles over insurance coverage, to educating doctors on how to interact with patients going through infertility treatments, to advice for parents on how to talk to children about assisted reproductive technologies, Elizabeth is proud to share her voice and story in order to fight for those who may not be able to fight for themselves. 

Elizabeth is a fearless Patient Advocate, striving to educate and empower people based on her life experiences and expertise within the fertility world. She has presented to audiences around the globe including at the United Nations, ASRM, ESHRE, and the national infertility association, RESOLVE.

A dynamic speaker, Elizabeth’s passion lies in education from helping companies craft fertility benefit packages & parental leave policies, to keynote speeches, to sitting one-on-one with people facing fertility questions head on. 

Elizabeth has worked as a journalist, marketing and events, and fundraising making her an expert at distilling complex issues into easy-to-digest stories. 

Elizabeth is also a marathoner, triathlete, coffee connoisseur, wife, mother, and writer.

Listen as Elizabeth shares with Ellen and Jenn:

• Living in the media spotlight since she was three cells old.
• Not understanding the big deal when she was little but growing to understand how historic and important the technology became for so many.
• Feeling that she was always under a microscope to see if she was “normal”. 
• At 10, to the horror of the school nurse, explaining during a lesson on human reproduction that there is another way! 
• Making herself available publicly to give others hope, but also dealing with hurtful mail that she “shouldn’t exist.”  
• Taking a break from the media in her 20s to focus on her journalism career. A career chosen after dealing with so many journalists from a young age!
• Being Senator Tim Kaine’s guest at the State of the Union.
• Jumping into action after the Alabama Supreme Court embryo ruling. 
• Working with so many great organizations to fight for families. 

Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903.

Learn more about Elizabeth Carr from her website: www.ejordancarr.com

Read Elizabeth’s book, Under the Microscope: https://ejordancarr.com/under-the-microscope

Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ 

Learn more about our surrogacy agency: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ 

Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch 

Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ 

This is the story of a beautiful family assembled out of order: dog, daughter, dad. It's the story of planning years ahead to become a mom, and wishing she’d started years earlier. It's the story of the unexpected that arrives in every form from love (like a husband) to terror (like medical issues), and the life-changing decisions that accompany any rocky road through fertility.

It was after their second date that Shira told her now husband she was probably pregnant. She conceived her daughter as a single mom by choice using donor sperm, most of her savings, and so much time, energy and effort. Just as she finally succeeded in getting pregnant, she met him. It turns out families don't have to be assembled in order.

Shira is a product, commercial and operations leader with deep experience launching and scaling tech-enabled healthcare. She has worked across various clinical specialties, partnering closely with health plans, employers, health systems and government.

Shira is currently at Lin Health, which specializes in treating chronic pain. Shira loves leading people, helping patients, and designing technology to solve problems. Shira was previously the General Manager of Behavioral Health and Musculoskeletal care at Eden Health. Before that at Omada Health, she led creation of product lines for diabetes, hypertension and behavioral health, as well as spearheading Omada’s work with national insurance carriers, the American Medical Association, and the federal government’s healthcare innovation team.

Shira is passionate about writing and speaking on the future of integrating technology into healthcare, as well as insights about culture and life choices from her time working and living around the world. Her greatest passion at work is supporting her team members in growth and development, and fostering the culture and organizational structures that lead to high productivity and work-life balance. Shira’s greatest joy is this family she built out of order: her young daughter, her loving husband, and her ever-hopeful dog. She is a community builder, outdoor enthusiast and world traveler. Shira has lived across the US, Europe and Africa and now loves hiking, biking and paddling near her home near Boulder, Colorado.

Listen as Shira shares with Ellen and Jenn:

• Calling her second date romantic interest to tell him she’s pregnant.
• Rewinding, getting good advice at 35 to get her fertility checked. 
• Finding out she had a very low egg count, choosing to go through the expensive process of egg freezing. 
• Talking to a financial planner about her hopes to be a parent, and ultimately making some major shifts in her life (including a major move).
• Still wanting a partner, but meeting people became hard with the onset of the COVID pandemic. 
• Grieving the loss of an idea she had for her life, but then being ready to move forward. 
• Researching who decides to become a single mother by choice; finding that these women are bad asses.
• After telling her second date the news, him still being in. And then being all in. 
• Finding out about a serious medical complication, moving to Florida together for specialized care. 
• Experiencing her happy ending/beginning.

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 agency: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ 

Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch 

Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ 

Yifat Shaltiel, Esq. is Author of “Save Money on Surrogacy” and has 16+ years of experience practicing surrogacy and assisted reproductive technology law and providing surrogacy coaching. She is CEO and Founder of Surrogate Steps, a surrogacy agency, helping families grow for over ten years. As one of the chairs of the Reproductive Health Law Committee for the Women’s Bar Association of the state of New York, Yifat testified on surrogacy matters in the New York State Legislature and participated as speaker at various venues, including the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. She has been featured as a surrogacy law specialist at numerous venues including Cornell Law School and news media outlets such as MSNBC. In addition to her book, she published many articles on reproductive law and surrogacy, and taught CLE classes regarding surrogacy to other attorneys and judges.

Yifat Shaltiel, Esq. was introduced to the world of surrogacy and infertility through her own infertility journey. She has made it her mission to help others grow their families through surrogacy and assisted reproductive technology and hopes that the information in this book, about how to save money in a surrogacy journey, will help more individuals afford surrogacy and successfully become parents.

Listen as Yifat shares with Ellen and Jenn:

• Experiencing infertility as a young prosecutor.
• Feeling very alone, but eventually finding a support group. 
• Experiencing failed treatments until a successful, but very difficult, pregnancy.
• Wanting to help others in this situation. Digging into the law.
• Quiting her job to follow her passion and starting a law practice focused on helping others with infertility. 
• Numbers. Just how expensive is surrogacy? 
• Best paths to saving money. 
• Areas where you don’t want to cut corners.

Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903.

Buy Yifat’s new book: https://surrogatesteps.com/save-money-on-surrogacy-book/

Learn more about Yifat’s surrogacy agency: https://surrogatesteps.com

Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ 

Learn more about our surrogacy agency: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ 

Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch 

Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ 

Ariel is a Registered Social Worker (RSW) and Psychotherapist who has been involved in the surrogacy and fertility community since 2015 and has guided countless couples and individuals on their journey to parenthood. 

After her own complicated miscarriage as a surrogate in 2016, Ariel discovered that there was very little specialized counselling for her painful situation and realized a much larger need for mental health professionals that deeply understand the fertility world. 

Ariel returned to school in 2018 and graduated from Western University in 2021. She opened Carried with Love (CWL) to provide 100% virtual support for those struggling with infertility, loss, pregnancy challenges or postpartum mood disorders. Since opening, CWL has continued to grow and now provides a wide range of therapeutic services and most recently has launched Canada’s first Independent Surrogacy Program. 

Ariel has carried 5 babies as a gestational surrogate which resulted in 4 live births – the most recent in the summer of 2023. Although Ariel is now retired as a surrogate, she continues to be an active presence in the fertility community and leverages her strong social media following to normalize all roads to parenthood for women and couples around the world. 

Listen as Ariel shares with Ellen and Jenn:

Being a lot of things: a fertility therapist, surrogacy educator, social worker, psychotherapist… and social media influencer!

Growing up with a family committed to volunteer work, especially with children.

Focusing her education on child development.

Loving pregnancy, but knowing their family was complete.

Impulsively Googling surrogacy and jumping in headfirst.

Canadian surrogacy laws v. US law (Ariel is in Canada!).

Her first surrogacy ending with a devastating miscarriage.

Feeling immense sadness over the loss and not finding the support she needed.

Seeing the need to a fill a gap, offering virtual fertility therapy for those experiencing loss with surrogacy and donor conception.

Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903.

Check out Carried with Love’s fertility and surrogacy support services: https://carriedwithlove.com/

Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/

Learn more about our surrogacy agency: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/

Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch

Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Ellen Weir Casey is the mother of one of the world's first IVF babies. Her daughter is known as "Colorado’s First Test Tube Baby." Her award-winning memoir, Unstoppable: Forging The Path To Motherhood in The Early Days Of IVF, is the first person account of a patient in the earliest days of Assisted Reproductive Technology. Ellen is a passionate advocate for unrestricted access to women’s health care. She speaks nationally and internationally bringing attention to the importance of establishing permanent access to IVF.

Listen as Ellen C. shares with Ellen T. and Jenn:

• Being one of the first women in the world to have a baby by IVF!
• Going through seven major surgeries in two countries and three U.S. States before meeting her miracle baby. 
• Wanting just to hold her baby after all she’d been through, but believing it important to share her story and give others hope. 
• Facing the claims of ethical, religious, moral backlash head on. Going on national television repeatedly, talking to anyone who would listen so they could understand. 
• 40 years later, still fighting for people to understand IVF and its importance. 

Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903.

Check out Ellen Casey’s book Unstoppable: Forging The Path To Motherhood in The Early Days Of IVF: https://www.amazon.com/Unstoppable-Forging-Path-Motherhood-Early/dp/1632994976

Follow Ellen Casey on Instagram at: @ellen2956 

Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ 

Learn more about our surrogacy agency: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ 

Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch 

Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/