Zara Griswold, Founder
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When my husband and I began our own Surrogacy journey in 2002, I had known for quite a while that I would never bear children. I had a complete hysterectomy due to ovarian cancer in 1994, when I was 23 years old, so I had put much thought into the way I would ever become a mother over this period of time. We considered adoption and attended a couple of adoption orientations; however, the concept of third party reproduction was foreign to us and it was, on many levels, rather overwhelming.  Still once we learned Surrogacy and Egg Donation were realistic options after all, we realized we had found our solution.

We matched with a wonderful and dedicated Gestational Surrogate in the spring of 2002 and welcomed our beautiful boy/girl twins into our arms the following summer, June 2, 2003. No words can describe our level of joy and fulfillment on this miraculous day.

I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Eastern Michigan University and a Master of Science degree in Education from Northern Illinois University, as I was a High School English teacher before our children were born.  My passion for educating and supporting others, along with my personal interest in Surrogacy and Egg Donation, is what inspired me to write the book, Surrogacy Was the Way: Twenty Intended Mothers Tell Their Stories, published in 2006.

I have been fortunate in being able to continue my dedication to Family Building via Third Party Reproduction in my position as Director of the Gestational Surrogacy program here at Family Source Consultants.  I am forever grateful that I was able to realize my dreams of parenthood with the miracle of Gestational Surrogacy and Egg Donation, and I have made it my life mission to help others achieve their family building dreams as well.

Staci Swiderski, Founder
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Alicia Vaillancourt-Flotte, CFLE, Surrogate Liaison
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One morning several years ago I awoke from a dream about becoming a Surrogate Mother and since 2002 I have been blessed to help 3 different families and brought 5 babies into this world realizing this dream.  I have also been fortunate enough to be chosen as an Egg Donor 5 times and enjoyed great success in donating and helping assist several sets of recipient couples in having a baby. The greatest feeling in the world is knowing you are part of something bigger than yourself.

As a Gestational Surrogate and an Egg Donor, I have been fortunate enough to help create and complete many families.  In my position as a Surrogate Liaison I am able to utilize my first hand knowledge and life experiences as a Surrogate and Egg Donor, and also implement my education from Western Michigan University--a Bachelors degree in Family Studies--to assist new applicants in applying to our surrogacy program and helping through the screening process, answering their questions and offering guidance when needed.

Jessica Anderson, Egg Donor Program Director
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I have always wanted to be a mother and in 2008, I had the desire to help others achieve their dreams of becoming parents. I began looking into egg donation and found Family Source Consultants and after meeting with FSC, I knew I wanted to be an egg donor to help bless families with bringing a child into the world. I was matched in December 2008 with an amazing couple that is now pregnant with twins. After a wonderful first experience with egg donation, I was thrilled to be matched again and just completed my second donation in May 2009. I am grateful to be matched once again and will be starting my third donation in July 2009. I feel so blessed to have been a part of these couples' lives and to share in the amazing experience of creating a life.

I recently graduated from Northern Illinois University with a B.S. in Family and Child Studies with an emphasis in Family and Individual Development and a minor in Psychology.

I am proud and excited to have joined the Family Source Consultants team as the Program Coordinator. In this position, I enjoy working in the human resource and coordinating operations department, as well as sharing an enormous part in assisting our clients through Egg Donation, and/or Gestational Surrogacy.

Ricardo Lucas Rodriguez, International Coordinator
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I was born in Seville, Spain and have a degree and PhD in organic chemistry. I speak Spanish, French and English fluently. I married my husband, Ivan in 2006 and together, via Gestational Surrogacy and Egg Donation, we have our son, Rodrigo.

I enjoy assisting Intended Parents from Spain and other countries in informing them with sharing my personal experience and helping others as they too, build their family via Gestational Surrogacy. Because of my experience in Third Party Reproduction to have our son, I feel well versed regarding the laws and the IVF procedure. I think what is most important from a human point of view is more so the people involved; as it is very solitaire and special.

Veronica Brailovsky, International Coordinator (Chicago)
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I was born in Argentina and moved to the United States in 1998. Since assisting a very close friend navigate her way through the surrogacy process ten years ago, and seeing through her experience the incredible satisfaction that surrogacy can provide to couples and individuals intent on building a loving family, I have become a dedicated advocate for surrogacy and intended parents. While helping this friend through each step in the gestational surrogacy process ten years ago, I was struck by how unnecessarily difficult and confusing that process could be due to an extreme lack of easily accessible information regarding the process, particularly for intended parents from outside the United States (since foreign intended parents have additional hurdles and considerations that don’t effect U.S. intended parents). For these reasons I have been assisting international intended parents for several years, leveraging from the experiences and guidance of those that have been through the process in order to make the experience simpler and easier for others.
It is a pleasure for me to be a part of the international division at Family Source Consultants, and I am looking forward to helping international intended parents in their wonderful journey to build loving families.

I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I moved to the United States in 2000.  As a mother of two daughters, I understand completely the desire to be a parent. It gives me much fulfillment to help Spanish speaking Intended Parents as their interpreter. I also have a special connection to Family Source Consultants, as one of my daughters donated her eggs to Zara and her husband in order for them to have their children. I am extremely proud of my daughter, as I believe she has done a wonderful thing by helping to create a family. When I was approached to help Family Source Consultants with interpretations for Spanish speaking Intended Parents, I felt it was a perfect fit for me. I am a Spanish teacher, and I enjoy helping those who need assistance in navigating through this process. While my role is to translate the language, this is only one portion of what I do here.  I am also a liaison between different cultures, and I create a translation that effectively mirrors the factual details of what Intended Parents want and expect. I help them as they sort through their feelings and emotions, and ensure that they are comfortable with all aspects as they begin what will likely be the most important journey of their life time. I am pleased to be a part of the Family Source Consultants team, and I look forward to helping more and more Spanish speaking Intended Parents build their families.

Gail Zarbin, L.C.S.W.
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Gail Zarbin has counseled women, men, and couples going through the challenges of infertility to help them with the emotional ups and downs of family planning choices and decisions. Gail is dedicated to helping people with their concerns and questions on how to build their family. Gail conducts the clinical assessment for women interested in being a gestational surrogate, egg donors, and the Intended Parents in third party reproductive arrangements. Loss of control is a common feeling for those who struggle with infertility. Uncertainty and struggling to become a parent can trigger powerful feelings. While most causes of infertility are physical, a cycle develops where stress affects infertility and infertility concerns cause emotional distress. Intended Parents choosing to build their families using a known or unknown donor need support to help them with their feelings, questions, and concerns. Women and men often go through the process of infertility in different ways. Men and women usually have different emotional reactions and emotional timetables. The infertility journey and family planning choices can challenge the ability for couples to stay connected. Gail offers counseling to provide support during this uncertain time to help couples communicate more empathically in order to better understand each other’s feelings of grief and loss, fear, differences of opinion, and concerns and therefore can decide how they want to move forward. Gail is dedicated and committed to using her personal and professional experiences to help women and couples find a sense of balance and hope during their journey.  

Gail Zarbin earned a Master of Social Work from George Williams College and has been in practice as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for over twenty years counseling individuals, couples, and children to help them with life’s transitions and adjustments. Gail’s style is to be interactive and informative and provide a safe place for growth and change. Gail’s approach to counseling is tailored to meet each person’s needs. Gail is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the American Fertility Association, and RESOLVE.