A few words

About Us

To Protect

Taking action to ensure the credibility and consistency of our field

For too many years, headlines have shed a negative reflection to the third-party reproduction field. We’ve come together as a community to take action and create what we hope will be a solution to the problem and provide additional credibility and consistency.

The Reproductive Alliance launched in 2021 and its mission is to establish national standards for the surrogacy field based on existing guidelines set forth by related professional organizations, recognize agencies and programs that meet those standards of excellence, and educate all parties in regards to best practices in assisted reproduction. The Reproductive Alliance regularly consults with many of the most experienced and insightful people in our community to help provide guidance and expertise to create standards that will serve as the basis for the accreditation process.

Accreditation seeks to protect the interests of all parties involved

Third-party reproduction brings together a plethora of people from many paths and disciplines for the singular purpose of bringing a new life into a loving family.

As a whole, the goal of Reproductive Alliance is to protect every party that is touched by a third-party reproduction arrangement. To that end, our Board of Trustees is representative of all those parties.

Board of Trustees

Alison Wilson

Alison Wilson

Licensed Psychologist

Dr. Alison Wilson is a licensed psychologist. Her private practice works closely with fertility clinics to provide hundreds of individuals and couples guidance and support as they explore all family building options. Since 2003, she has provided psychological consultations for clients interested in using third-party reproductive assistance and she has extensive experience screening donors and gestational surrogates. She is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and she is the Secretary for Colorado Fertility Advocates (CFA). In the past, she has served as an oversight committee member for RESOLVE – a national infertility advocacy group and she has served as a board of trustee for the Texas Psychological Association. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, she has enjoyed making her home in beautiful Colorado with her family.

Dominique Side

Dominique Side

Owner, Escrow Management

Dominique Side is the Owner and CEO of Surrogacy Escrow Account Management (SEAM). Before opening SEAM, Dominique served as both an egg donor and a surrogate as one of her life’s passions is assisting people in creating and growing their families. From the young age of 19, Dominique began building her career in finance and accounting in the corporate world. She then became familiar with reviewing contracts in other fields and eventually took on a consulting role helping others manage their business affairs. Dominique came to own SEAM in 2015 and has since become a trusted voice for escrow in the third-party reproduction field.

Dottie Cortez

Dottie Cortez

Voice for Surrogates

Dottie Cortez has always loved all things pregnancy, birth, babies, and breastfeeding. She is currently pursuing her doula certification through Birth Arts International so she can direct her love for the perinatal period to support growing families. Her passion extended to surrogacy in 2014 when she became an admin on several surrogacy Facebook pages to offer support and guidance to other surrogates. Her first & only surrogacy journey was for a traditional couple in Indiana. She is proudly known as “Aunt Dot” to the beautiful baby girl she delivered in January 2018. She has lived in Tennessee since 2010, with her husband, and homeschools their 3 children. Dottie is the social media manager for Hearts to Hands Surrogacy.

Jennifer White

Jennifer White

Surrogacy Agency Program Director

Jennifer is the co-director of Bright Futures Families, the parent company to Colorado Surrogacy, Montana Surrogacy, Texas Surrogacy, Southwest Surrogacy, New England Surrogacy, and Pacific Cascade Surrogacy. She loves helping people realize their dream of becoming parents and is honored to play a role in this intimate and life-enhancing journey. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Justice and Public Safety from Auburn University Montgomery, Jennifer spent 15 years as a paralegal, most recently with Trachman Law Center. Her experience also includes the insurance and medical fields which make her uniquely qualified to help intended parents and their surrogates understand every aspect of the process. Jennifer is a member of ASRM, past Secretary of SEEDS, Founding member and Treasurer of Colorado Fertility Advocates, RESOLVE Advocacy Day Mentor, and Team Captain. She lives with her husband, daughter, and two fur-babies in Connecticut.

Dr. Mark P. Leondires

Dr. Mark P. Leondires

Reproductive Endocrinologist & Infertility Specialist

Dr. Mark P. Leondires is the Founder, Medical Director, and Partner at Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut (RMACT) and Gay Parents To Be (GPTB). He is board-certified in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. In addition to serving as Chair of ASRM’s LGBTQ Special Interest Group, he is currently a member of Resolve’s Physician Council. Dr. Leondires has been selected as a Castle Connolly “Top Doctor” in CT & NY for five consecutive years. For Dr. Mark Leondires, medicine offers an opportunity to solve problems; each fertility patient presents a unique puzzle. This, combined with a wide range of interests and life events, is how Dr. Leondires came into reproductive endocrinology and infertility and start his own fertility practice. While his academic and professional career has led Dr. Leondires to spend his time in labs, hospitals, and medical offices, he has not abandoned his love for biology and the outdoors. Dr. Leondires spends much of his time at the beach, teaching his two young boys about the marine life of the Long Island Sound. He loves being outdoors hiking, biking and skiing. Dr. Leondires is a dedicated father to his two sons and his husband, whom he married in 2009.

Melissa Dias

Melissa Dias

Voice for Intended Parents

Melissa and her husband achieved parenthood with the help of a gestational surrogate. After 10 years of fertility treatments resulting in the loss of their daughter at 20 weeks gestation, they knew they needed help and turned to surrogacy. In 2014, they were blessed with identical twin girls. It was after her surrogacy journey that she saw the need for education. Melissa remains an advocate for intended parents and surrogates by helping to run surrogacy groups where support and education are provided. Melissa lives with her husband of 26 years, their daughters, and their rescue pup, Mabel in New Jersey.

Tara Baumgartner

Tara Baumgartner

Third-Party IVF Coordinator

Tara has been working in reproductive health since 2006. Prior to that, she was a Labor and Delivery Nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for 6 years. She has worked for Shady Grove Fertility and Reproductive Partners in La Jolla prior to San Diego Fertility Center. She has a Bachelor’s Of Nursing from Shepherd University in West Virginia.

Virginia Hart

Virginia Hart

Insurance Broker

Virginia Hart has been an insurance broker for the past 25 years, the last 17 years specializing in insurance for all aspects of assisted reproduction. As founder and CEO of ART Risk Financial and Insurance Solutions, Inc. she remains current on insurance issues pertinent to the field and works with her clients to find the best solution, whether it be through commercial insurance, specialty products, or financial case management. Licensed in all 50 states, this allows her to work with clients regardless of location in the U.S. as well as internationally. With her extensive breadth of knowledge and expertise in the Assisted Reproductive Technology insurance field, Virginia is often requested as a guest lecturer at numerous conferences and recently published an article in the American Bar Association Section of Family Law “Family Advocate” magazine. Focusing on offering clients the knowledge to help them better understand their liability exposures and the best available financial risk management solutions is always one of Ms. Hart’s highest priorities.

Ashlee Hammonds

Ashlee Hammonds

Surrogacy Agency Program Director

Ashlee is the owner and CEO of Family Makers Surrogacy. As a parent through surrogacy herself, she loves helping people come together to experience the unique and amazing experience of surrogacy. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Mercer University, Jennifer spent 5 years as a non-profit fundraiser as the Senior Director for United Way. She also spent 10 years in sales and marketing in the field of genetics. Most recently, her experience also includes opening a physical therapy medical practice from the ground up, which she co-owned with her husband until it was sold in 2015.  Ashlee is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy. She lives with her husband, four children, and two pups in Florida.

Former Board Members

Carol Weathers

Carol Weathers

Surrogacy Agency Program Director

Carol Weathers has been facilitating surrogacy arrangements since 1991. Carol is the Founding Owner and Program Director of Building Families, Inc. Carol is involved in and supervises every surrogacy case. In her many years of practice, Carol has established long-standing relationships with reproductive endocrinologists, psychologists, and attorneys who are leaders in the field of third-party reproduction. Her association with these and other professionals has assisted her in offering a comprehensive surrogacy program as well as receiving up-to-date information on any changes in the field that could affect the Intended Parents and their Surrogate Mother. Carol is a member of ASRM, PCRS, ESHRE, past Treasurer of SEEDS, and a proud member of Resolve. Carol was a Surrogate Mom herself, delivering a baby girl in July 1993, and lives in Southern California surrounded by 3 of her 4 grandchildren.

Lori S. Meyers

Lori S. Meyers

Attorney in Reproductive Law

Lori S. Meyers is a California attorney with 23 years experience in third party reproductive law. Lori first researched the area of surrogacy and reproductive law for a close friend in 1995 and never left the field. She believes in maintaining close contact throughout the process of the arrangement, and works hard to build relationships with her clients so that all legal aspects are completed with confidence. Lori has built a strong reputation for creating open, trusting relationships with her clients. Lori is a Member of The Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA), a credentialed organization dedicated to the competent and ethical practice of adoption and assisted reproduction law. It advocates for laws and policies to protect the best interests of children, the legal status of families formed through adoption and assisted reproduction, and the rights of all interested parties.