Rachel is the owner of Adi Shakti Yoga; Therapy located in Longmont, Colorado. She has been practicing psychotherapy since 2014 and has 10 years of experience offering compassionate supportive counseling. She is a registered yoga & meditation teacher and has led women's groups and retreats.

Having been a single parent, as well as raised children in a blended family, she is now the mother of a young son born in the country of Georgia thanks to a surrogate mother and an egg donor. Through her psychotherapy practice called Nurture Yourself, Nurture Your Child, she is available to work with mothers, intended mothers, aspiring mothers, grandmothers, and any woman wishing to heal their inner child. She uses somatic practices, parenting approaches, attachment theory, and many other tools to help you find perspective on the broad spectrum of parenting possibilities as you learn to heal your own childhood and nurture yourself, your children, your relationships, and your work in the world. She is especially interested in helping other intended parents on the challenging and exciting journey of surrogacy.

Listen as Rachel discusses with Ellen and Jenn:

• Entering a second marriage in her mid-40s and very much wanting a child together.
• Struggling with monthly disappointments.
• Receiving an inheritance that allowed for the discussion of surrogacy.
• Having reconnected with a half-sister, exploring the possibility of her donating her eggs.
• Her husband having a long-time interest in Georgia, they were intrigued to learn that
• surrogacy was legal and supported in the country.
• Facing fears related to war in the region; but increasing her resolve after connecting and
• raising money for a non-profit.
• Enduring the ups and downs of an international surrogacy journey.

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

Check out Rachel’s Substack: https://rachelrwilson.substack.com/

Learn more about Kundalini Yoga for Recovery: https://www.ky12step.com/nurture

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

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

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

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

During the height of Covid, Melissa had the opportunity to take care of a baby born through surrogacy to a Chinese Intended Father. What was supposed to be a five week role turned into a nearly six month adventure of a lifetime and led to a deeply meaningful relationship between two families across the globe. It's a beautiful story of how the gift of surrogacy makes THE most amazing families and changes (so many) lives for the better.

With over 20 years of experience in marketing & business development, across the US and internationally, Melissa began her professional journey in Assisted Reproductive Technology as Events & Operations Director for Men Having Babies, the international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing its members and prospective parents with education and financial support throughout their surrogacy journeys. While at MHB, she had the extraordinary honor to produce conferences all over the world, inviting thousands of intended parents and leading service providers in the field to gather for educational forums and community building, concentrated on surrogacy and ART opportunities.

Melissa has also served as Director of Marketing and Business Development for several international surrogacy programs, focusing on growing the outreach program for qualified surrogates and donors by developing broad-scale events and marketing programs, as well as building strong relationships with partnering fertility clinics and ART professionals around the world.

Four years ago, Melissa founded a full-service creative agency helping businesses develop and deliver their brand promises. [

https://compasscreativeconsultants.com/]

She feels so fortunate to work with many thriving small businesses, and in particular to collaborate with those in the ART space and is immensely grateful for the meaningful work she is privileged to do on behalf of building families and to be a part of this beautiful, collaborative community of professionals.