Two Sassy Sisters Expand a Surrogacy Agency to New England
When people first discover that Ellen and Jennifer are sisters the reaction is always strong and almost always the same. There are a few awkward moments of looking back and forth between them to determine if they *truly* are in fact sisters. The next statement is usually their decision as to whether they think the sisters look alike (“we’re sisters, not identical twins!” they point out). The final statement is frequently: “That’s amazing. I could *never* work with my sister.”
But Jennifer and Ellen can’t imagine doing this with anyone else. Do they agree on everything at every moment? No. Does anyone? But they have many years of practice finding middle ground with each other and have perfected the fine art of negotiating. Although, Jennifer notes that Ellen’s 3-year-old version of negotiation involved writing her name in permanent marker on her sister’s toys and saying they were hers because they had her name on them. Are you surprised to learn that Ellen ended up becoming a lawyer?
The sisters’ family life has grown and adapted over the years, making them both truly understand that family is who you choose to love and let into your life. One of them (Jennifer) has a tiny nuclear family that was achieved after many years of struggling with infertility; the other sister (Ellen) has a large (and LOUD) family. Ellen was deeply moved by her sister’s long (very, very long) struggle with infertility and decided to become an egg donor to help other struggling intended parents.
That experience was absolutely life-changing and led Ellen to modify her career path—from corporate lawyer to assisted reproduction lawyer. Ellen soon began her own reproductive law practice in Denver, Colorado. The law practice thrived, and Ellen enjoyed working with intended parents and surrogates so much that she teamed up with her sister to launch Colorado Surrogacy, a surrogacy agency with local roots and working with local surrogates. And that’s how the two sassy sisters started a surrogacy agency.
On the professional spectrum, the sisters are opposite. Ellen is outgoing, compassionate and wildly smart. Jennifer is introverted, organized, and detail oriented. Ellen is ready to race out the door to meet the next new person and Jennifer is holding her car keys and a folder of information at the ready for her. As Jennifer says, “we love our new partnership with Catherine Tucker because she adds a measured level of calm to the entire equation.”
Catherine is also a mom who struggled through infertility (just like Jennifer) and an assisted reproduction lawyer (just like Ellen). Catherine’s own journey through infertility left a profound impact on her. As a lawyer, she realized that her true calling was helping to build families. So Catherine started the first fertility law practice in New Hampshire. (If you want to learn more about her journey, check out the article written about her story in the New Hampshire Bar News).
What frustrated Catherine were the many antiquated assumptions underlying New Hampshire’s surrogacy laws. These laws would then leave her and her clients exasperated with the system. Catherine went on to rewrite the New Hampshire laws on surrogacy. These modernized New Hampshire laws put into place strong protections for intended parents and surrogates (and donors too) and removed unnecessary impediments. And these laws have been used as a model in other New England states seeking to modernize their own surrogacy laws (way to go, Catherine!). This means that, from a legal perspective, New England became a great place to pursue surrogacy.
And New England Surrogacy is exactly what happened when this feisty fertility law advocate got together with the two sassy sisters.
We bring to the table a combined 15+ years of experience with surrogacy. We bring to the table our proven commitment to intended parents and surrogates. We bring to the table our in-depth knowledge of how surrogacy works in the six New England states--New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. We bring to the table local New England roots. We bring to the table a proven successful model that has brought over a dozen babies into this world this year alone, with a dozen more on the way! And we bring to the table our own experiences with assisted reproduction.
If you are looking to become a surrogate, we’d love to talk to you. Please head over to our brief surrogate intake form to schedule some time to talk with us. We look forward to chatting with you!
If you are an intended parent interested in an initial consult (these are always free), please head over to our appointment scheduling system. We look forward to being part of your family building team!