Guy E. Ringler, MD

Dr. Guy Ringler, a partner with California Fertility Partners, is a board certified physician in Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility. He graduated with honors from the University of Michigan and the Wayne State University School of Medicine. He completed residency training in OB/GYN at the University of Chicago, and training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Ringler conducted molecular biology research on the regulation of placental function in the laboratory of Dr. Jerome Strauss, and trained with other renowned reproductive surgeons. He was awarded the first Nettie Karpin Award by the Endocrine Society and Serono Symposia.
In clinical practice for twenty years, Dr. Ringler helped thousands worldwide achieve their dream of having children and developed a large referral practice due to his excellent patient rapport and high success rates with IVF, donor eggs, and gestational surrogacy. He worked closely with leading surrogacy agencies to help gay individuals build families. Dr. Ringler is committed to patient education and is on the Board of Directors of the American Fertility Association.

Robert Boostanfar, MD., F.A.C.O.G.

Doctor Robert Boostanfar graduated medical school from the University of Southern California in 1995. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1999 and his fellowship in the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in 2002 at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles County Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Dr. Boostanfar currently sees patients in the Encino and Westlake Village HRC Fertility offices and has been published in many publications and has also given presentations on his studies in the US, Canada and Italy. Dr. Boostanfar is active in well-known professional organizations, including American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, as well as the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
During Dr. Boostanfar’s time at HRC Fertility, he has made multiple television appearances including Good Morning America, CNN, The Learning Channel as the resident doctor on “The Little Couple”, KTLA, CBS and has been featured in People Magazine. Dr. Boostanfar has received numerous awards including Top Docs Los Angeles and Vitals.com’s Patients' Choice Award.

Dr. Kim Bergman, Ph.D.

Dr. Bergman, a licensed psychologist of 22 years, has specialized in the area of third party assisted reproduction for the last two decades. With an extensive background in fertility and parenting, Dr. Bergman is an expert on parenting by choice, particularly within the LGBT community. She has provided services to hundreds of parents going through the assisted reproductive process.
Dr. Bergman co-owns both Fertility Counseling Services, providing psychological assessment, monitoring, and support for surrogates and donors, and Growing Generations, one of the largest surrogacy agencies in the world.
Dr. Bergman is a member of ASRM, American Fertility Association, American Psychological Association, Lesbian and Gay Psychotherapy Association, and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. She is on the national board of the Family Equality Council. She writes, teaches, and speaks on parenting by choice internationally. Dr. Bergman has coauthored "Gay Men Who Become Fathers via Surrogacy: The Transition to Parenthood", (Journal of GLBT Family Studies, April 2010). Dr. Bergman lives with her wife of 28 years and two teenage daughters.

Diane Hinson, Esq.

Diane founded Creative Family Connections on the principle that “everyone can build a family,” after starting her own family as a single mother. She has obtained landmark rulings for same-sex clients in Maryland, helped opened the doors of IVF clinics in the metropolitan DC area to gay dads, and prepared the first draft of gay-friendly surrogacy legislation in Maryland. She is now working with HRC and Family Equality to change DC’s surrogacy law. She serves as HRC’s pro-bono counsel for surrogacy issues, has taught surrogacy classes as part of the DC Rainbow Families “Maybe Baby” series for 8 years, and gives a workshop on surrogacy at biannual LGBT DC Rainbow Family Conference. More than half of CFC’s clients are LGBT families.
Diane is well known as the legal expert who answers questions from both intended parents and surrogates on the Surromomsonline legal forum, and she is recognized as a legal expert within the surrogacy community and as a leading family building resource around the world.

Jamie Williams

Jamie Williams, The Surrogacy SOURCE's Director of Client Relations, has extensive knowledge in the field of third-party reproduction with an emphasis on Surrogacy case management. This, combined with first-hand experience as a gestational carrier herself, has resulted in a uniquely qualified, highly dedicated and compassionate individual to serve the growing needs of our clients.
In addition to directing client relations, Jamie remains committed to managing cases in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Texas and Washington and staying pro-active throughout the entire process. Jamie states, "Our commitment is to provide the highest caliber experience to our clients and surrogates. We recognize that the relationship between Agencies, Surrogates and Intended Parents is a special one, and for that reason I believe that every detail requires special care. Having seen both sides, I feel that the most important components of the Surrogacy experience are clear communication and rigorous screening. Our program will provide unsurpassed service with these tenets in mind."

Robert Kaufmann, M.D., HCLD

Dr. Robert Kaufmann, a world-renowned infertility specialist, is the founder and Medical Director of Fort Worth Fertility and Texas Reproductive Center. He graduated from Sackler School of Medicine and went on to an advanced fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Along with his premier staff they have been responsible for over 1,600 surrogate cycles and over 2,500 PGD cycles. He has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including Top Doctors of America 2005-12, Top Obstetrician Gynecologist in the United States 2007,2012, and Compassionate Doctor Award 2009-12. Dr. Kaufmann authored over 50 articles and chapters and has lectured both nationally and internationally. Dr Kaufmann has personally been affected by infertility, having had his two children through IVF, which has enhanced his desire to provide the best care possible for his patients. His background as a clinical fertility specialist, along with a caring staff and ancillary facility, including a premiere IVF laboratory, affords patients excellent care combined with a personalized approach.

Ryan Kiessling

Ryan Kiessling is an experienced Non-profit manager, and has served as the Operations Manager for the Bedford Research Foundation since 2011. The Bedford Research Foundation is a not for profit 501c(3) organization that runs the Special Program of Assisted Reproduction (SPAR - www.sementesting.org). SPAR is a world renowned program that combines PCR HIV Semen Testing and Sperm Washing to screen and prepare semen specimens from HIV-infected men for safe IVF procedures, and as such has already helped many HIV positive gay men have children safely. Ryan has been involved with the Bedford Research Foundation for many years in various roles, including that of SPAR coordinator, and is very familiar with all of the Foundation's programs, including SPAR.

Stephanie Scott

Stephanie Scott is the Executive Program Director at Simple Surrogacy. Stephanie oversees the initial screening of all Intended Parents, Surrogates, and Egg Donors who apply with our program. As a previous Surrogate, Stephanie’s experience with agencies spans both sides of the process. She brings to the Agency experience a full understanding of the intricacies of the matching and screening process. Stephanie directs the matching between our Surrogates, Egg Donors, and Intended Parents based on their specific needs and desires. In addition to the acceptance and matching of new applicants, Stephanie also oversees the medical and psychological screening for our program. Stephanie Scott and Simple Surrogacy have been featured in 20/20 and Nightline, Newsweek Magazine, The LA Times, The Fort Worth Star Telegram, CBC National News Radio, USA Today, Dallas Child Magazine and The Hartford Courant, among many others.

Victoria T. Ferrara, Esq.

Victoria T. Ferrara, Esq., Legal Director of Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists and managing partner of the multi-lawyer Law Firm of Victoria T. Ferrara, PC, has been practicing law in the area of assisted reproductive technology for over 20 years. Vicki's clients come from around the world as she has represented intended parents from South America, Asia and Europe as well as many clients in the U.S.A. Through her handling of the landmark case of Raftopol v. Ramey, Vicki was instrumental in changing the law in the State of Connecticut to create a new way to become legal parents through surrogacy. Vicki is a fellow of the American Academy of Assisted Reproduction Technology Attorneys and she has written and presented at U.S. and international conferences on surrogacy law. Her agency, Worldwide Surrogacy, is a successful surrogacy matching agency with offices in Connecticut and New York.

Zara Griswold

Zara Griswold is Co-Founder of Family Source Consultants, and Director of Family Source Consultants’ Gestational Surrogacy program. Zara has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Eastern Michigan University and a Master of Science from Northern Illinois University. Zara’s twins were born via Gestational Surrogacy and Egg Donation in 2003, and in 2006, her book, Surrogacy Was the Way: Twenty Intended Mothers Tell Their Stories, was published. As previous Intended Parents themselves, Zara and Co-Owner of Family Source Consultants, Staci Swiderski, are especially aware of the joys and challenges of third party reproduction as a family building alternative. They and the Family Source Consultants team are deeply passionate about helping people build their family with the help of a Surrogate, Egg Donor, or both.

Vicken Sahakian, MD

Dr. Sahakian is the Medical Director of Pacific Fertility Center-Los Angeles. Founded in 1992, PFC was one of the first private IVF clinics in the United States. Dr. Sahakian has performed over 6000 IVF procedures that have resulted in the birth of over 4500 babies all over the world. In 1997, he, along with his colleagues, pioneered the most revolutionary financial program in modern medicine, the IVF Refund Plan. Now for the first time, the doctor was willing to assume risk in treating women with infertility. This program has forever changed the way we practice medicine in the field of reproductive sciences.
Dr. Sahakian has special interest in gestational surrogacy and egg donation thus helping the gay community to build families as well. Over the last 15 years, he has performed over 1500 IVF cycles with third party parenting. Recent success rate in this subgroup has been so elevated that he has instituted comprehensive financial programs aimed to practically guarantee the birth of a child through IVF.

Karen Roeb

As founder and clinical Administrator of Fertility Miracles, Karen Roeb brings to third party reproduction over 24 years of experience working as an OB-GYN/Infertility nurse. Her agency, Fertility Miracles, is a full service Surrogacy and Egg Donor company with expertise in assisting men, women, couples and single gay men in their journey culminating in parenthood. Karen is an active member and supporter of the LGBT community, including Pop Luck Club, Family Equality Council, and the LA Gay and Lesbian Center. One of Fertility Miracle's couples has also been featured on the 2012 People's Choice award-winning video, "The Story of Esteban and Michele", featuring the journey of a male couple traveling from Italy to the States to fulfill their fatherhood dream. Karen was an exhibitor and supporter of the 2012 MHB-Barcelona event, and has spoken and wrote about gay parenting, including Pink Parenting Magazine, Fertility Road, MomLogic, and Resolve. She is frequently interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and San Diego Examiner as an expert in the field.

James Speer, M.S.

As Program Director at CT Fertility, Jamie Speer oversees the administration of all aspects of the Egg Donation and Surrogacy program. He oversees the development of new and increasingly cost-effective treatment strategies, attends to the unique needs of the clinic’s expanding international client base, and works closely with all intended parents to help them choose the parenting options that are right for them.
Mr. Speer earned his BS in Medical Cytogenetics from the University of Connecticut, and subsequently worked in the fields of chromosome analysis and DNA testing. He later received his MS in Human Genetics / Genetic Counseling from Sarah Lawrence College, and practiced as a prenatal genetic counselor for ten years before becoming the Associate Director of the Joan H. Marks Graduate Program in Human Genetics at Sarah Lawrence College in 2002. Mr. Speer first joined CT Fertility in 2006 as a genetic counseling consultant, specializing in working with egg donors and intended parents matched with egg donors, pursuing in vitro fertilization and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and screening of their embryos.

John Hesla, M.D.

John S. Hesla, MD, joined Oregon Reproductive Medicine (formerly Portland Center for Reproductive Medicine) in May of 1999. He is a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist who specializes in the treatment and care of patients with endocrine and infertility issues. Prior to joining this practice Dr. Hesla was the director of in vitro fertilization and head of the reproductive surgery program at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 1993, Dr. Hesla founded and created the in vitro fertilization program at Emory University in Atlanta. More recently, he was the co-director of the successful in vitro fertilization program at the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine. Dr. Hesla has a medical degree from the Oregon Health Sciences University School of Medicine, and a bachelor degree from Harvard University where he graduated magna cum laude. Additionally, Dr. Hesla completed an obstetrics and gynecology residency at University of California at Los Angeles and fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility from Johns Hopkins University and is nationally recognized for his care and treatment of infertility through his innovative methods of assisting couples achieve pregnancy.

Nurit Winkler, M.D.

Dr. Winkler of the Center for Fertility and Gynecology is board certified in Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology. She completed her residency at Brown University School of Medicine where she earned multiple teaching and research awards. She completed three years of fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center conducting cutting edge research in the field of reproduction with special interest in ovarian aging and fertility treatments. She received her medical degree from the University of Pavia in Italy graduating with the highest distinction. Dr Winkler has presented her research in national and international meetings, she is the author of a chapter in Reproductive Medicine and she is a member of numerous prestigious societies. Dr Winkler continues to hold a position of Clinical Instructor at UTSW Medical Center as well as frequent guest lecturer at acupuncture schools. During her medical career Dr. Winkler earned and keeps earning multiple medical awards. In 2011 Dr. Winkler was awarded “Patient Choice Award”, “Compassionate Physician Award” and “American Top OB/GYN".

Marc Kalan, M.D.

Dr. Kalan of the Center for Fertility and Gynecology is board certified in Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology. He received his medical degree from the Roslyn Franklin University of Health Sciences/Chicago Medical School. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology and a three year fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Southern California. While at USC, Dr. Kalan received several awards for resident teaching and patient care. He maintains his affiliation with the University through his appointment as Clinical Instructor in OB/GYN as well as serving on the board of USC's OB/GYN alumni association. Dr. Kalan has presented research at numerous national and international meetings on topics including Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, obesity and reproduction and IVF Laboratory conditions.

Said T. Daneshmand, MD, FACOG

Dr. Said Daneshmand, the Practice Director at The Fertility Center of Las Vegas is sub-specialty Board Certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. He completed his residency and fellowship training at UCLA Medical Center. After joining The Fertility Center of Las Vegas in 1999, Dr. Daneshmand was integral in establishing the region’s first egg freezing program. He collaborated with his practice partner, Dr. Bruce Shapiro, to develop IVF protocols to improve pregnancy rates, including PTEC (post thaw extended culture), one of the most successful IVF regimens currently available.
Their groundbreaking findings were published in the internationally respected medical journal, Fertility and Sterility, and Dr. Daneshmand has also served as a reviewer for the same publication. Additionally, Dr. Daneshmand and Dr. Shapiro’s voluminous research has been presented at both national and international conferences. IVFreports.org has also recognized the Fertility Center of Las Vegas for their stellar pregnancy rates. Currently, Dr. Daneshmand’s special interest lies in developing protocols for patients undergoing IVF, focusing primarily on patients with previous unsuccessful cycles.