U.S. Donor Conceived Council relies exclusively upon the hard work and dedication of our all-volunteer executive board and team. We also work alongside members of our Advisory Committee.
Learn more about USDCC’s history and mission here.
Executive Board
TIFFANY D. GARDNER
President/CEO
she/her
Tiffany is an attorney who learned she was donor conceived at 35 and developed a close but brief relationship with her biological father. She has published legal scholarship on the topic of enacting reasonable regulations for commercialized third-party gamete donation.
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Connecting with her biological father and her donor conceived siblings inspired Tiffany to become an advocate on behalf of other donor conceived people. She lives with her husband and three young sons in the suburbs of Atlanta and enjoys reading and writing, going to concerts, and spending time with her family.
KATHERINE (“KAT”) BOLDT
Secretary, Mental Health Team
she/her
Kat Boldt, LPC, was raised by a single mother by choice and has always known she was donor conceived. As a licensed counselor in Ohio, she specializes in providing affirming care to adult clients exploring sexuality, gender identity, and reproductive technologies, including donor conception.
KAITLYN BOLLER
Vice President of Legislative Affairs
she/her
Kaitlyn is a late-discovery donor conceived person and stepchild adoptee. She is a health policy and patient safety professional with a masters of health administration. Kaitlyn lives in Northern Indiana and enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering for causes close to her heart.
MELISSA (“MEL”) BORNICO
Vice President of Development
she/her
Mel was conceived from an anonymous egg donor and learned this just before turning 22. She has a degree in neuroscience with experience working in medicine, research, bioethics, and human rights.
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After Mel’s discovery, she connected with countless other DCP and started noticing common threads in their stories. It then became clear that these “common threads” were manifestations of systemic problems in the fertility industry at large, which compelled her to take on an advocacy role via co-founding USDCC. Mel spearheads the organization’s fundraising initiatives as VP of Development, and she is always trying her hand at new projects.
JONI MANTELL
Vice President of Mental Health Initiatives
she/her
Joni had 30 years’ experience as a licensed psychotherapist specializing in donor conception and adoption when she learned from a DNA test that she was donor conceived. She has been a longstanding advocate for parental openness, offering counseling and workshops for parents on the topic.
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Joni is passionate about helping gamete recipient parents gain the confidence they need to be open with their children/families, and she is also passionate about advocating for change within the reproductive medicine industry. She is a frequent writer for ‘Ask A Therapist’ in Adoptive Families Magazine and a member of ASRM’s Mental Health Professional Group and donor conception taskforce. Prior to joining USDCC as the head of mental health initiatives, Joni served on the USDCC advisory committee as a mental health expert.
RACHEL SCHIFF
Treasurer, Director of Marketing
they/them
Rachel is double donor-conceived via anonymous egg and anonymous sperm, and knew this from 7 years old. They received their MSc in International Business Management with a Marketing Pathway from Kingston University London.
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Currently living in New York, their professional experience focuses on mission-driven organizations within the hospitality and non-profit sectors. Outside of work, they enjoy live music, Broadway shows, and trying all the restaurants in the city.
TYLER LEVY SNIFF
Vice President of Legal & Regulatory Affairs
he/him
Tyler is a late-discovery donor conceived person. He leads USDCC’s efforts to develop and introduce legislation. Tyler is an attorney for the EPA who earned a degree in physics from Furman University, where he also studied genetics.
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Tyler also acts as treasurer and general counsel for USDCC. He lives in Atlanta and enjoys spending time with his family, listening to jazz, and playing golf and the saxophone.
JAMIE SPIERS
Vice President of Stakeholder Engagement
she/her
Jamie is a sperm-donor conceived person raised by a lesbian single mother by choice. She has experience consulting on projects related to third-party reproduction.
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Prior to joining USDCC, Jamie served as a key consultant to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) in the development of educational materials mandated by the Donor-Conceived Persons & Families of Donor-Conceived Persons Protection Act.
Our Volunteers
HOLDEN BENDER-BERNSTEIN
Mental Health Team
he/him
Holden is a donor-conceived social worker and educator based in Los Angeles, currently serving as an in-shelter Mental Health Specialist working with people experiencing homelessness. Holden grew up with two moms and met his identity-release donor just before turning 18.
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Holden has an ongoing, positive relationship and friendship with his donor, and he is a part of a sibling pod of twenty-some-odd, most of whom he is in contact with. Holden is a strong believer in restorative justice-centered work and trauma-informed practice, and hopes to bring this lens to help DCPs and their families approach tough conversations and to advocate for the rights of DCP.
RACHEL BRITAIN
Communications
she/her
Rachel is a communications and graphic design specialist with over a decade of experience. At 31, she found out via a DNA test that she was donor conceived.
LEONA CHILDS, MA, LMHC
Mental Health Team
she/her
Leona is a licensed mental health counselor who has aided individuals processing issues like donor-conception, becoming a recipient parent, adoption trauma, post-partum mood concerns, and fertility struggles. She is a late-discovery donor-conceived person who understands the value of honest and open communication within the family and societal systems.
EMILY DERRICK, LMFT
Mental Health Team
she/her
Emily is a reproductive therapist, supporting all members of third-party constellations in California. She is a wife and mom of two, as well as a gestational carrier of one, for two dads via known donation, and the biological mother of approximately six or more children via egg donation. Emily donated eggs via matched cycles to opposite-sex and same-sex couples, and a single mother by choice, and has contact with one family.
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Formerly a Director and Case Manager at an egg donation and surrogacy agency, Emily’s varied personal and professional experience provides unique background as her clients guide her on their own journey of exploration. Emily is a member of ASRM and their Mental Health Professional Group, SEEDS, and the Donor Conceived Community Professional Group.
CARISSA DOSHI
Communications
she/her
Carissa is a book editor who learned she was conceived via an anonymous sperm donor at 13. Twenty years passed before she was able to find out more information.
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Carissa enjoys reading, hiking, and cooking. She lives with her husband and daughter in the suburbs of Chicago.
HAYDYN HORNSTEIN-PLATT, LCSW
Mental Health Team
she/her
Haydn is a donor-conceived, licensed clinical social worker practicing in Philadelphia. She has spoken publicly on donor conception and biopsychosocial factors in various settings including the Philadelphia Family Pride Family Matters Conference and the Jefferson Infertility Counseling Conference. Haydn is an active member of USDCC’s Donor Conceived Person Centered Professional Development Group.
CAROLE LIEBERWILKINS, MFT
Mental Health Team
she/her
Carole LieberWilkins is a marriage and family therapist licensed in California, Idaho, and Nevada. Her work has always focused on helping people build healthy families. She is a passionate educator, helping intended and recipient parents understand the unique aspects of creating a family with the help of other genetic providers (donors), helping them to understand how to address the needs of their future children or the children they are already parenting.
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Carole is known for helping parents have the lifelong conversations about how they created their family. She works with infertility patients coping with the stress of not being able to become parents how and when they originally wished.
Carole also works with those considering being an egg, sperm, or embryo donor, helping them address the lifelong issues that come with that decision. Carole also works with late discovery donor conceived people, helping them process what it means to learn one’s true genetic identity in adolescence or adulthood.
Carole is proud to be a Mental Health Advisor for USDCC, a member of the Donor Conceived Community, the USDCC Donor Conceived Person Centered Professional Development Group, and the Mental Health Professional Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. She is the Mental Health Advisor to Parents via Egg Donation.
HILLARY REDWINE
Communications
she/her
Hillary is a recipient parent through egg donation. Her daughter Corinne was born in 2015. Listening to the experiences of donor-conceived people led her to pursue relationships with Corinne’s genetic mother and donor-conceived siblings much earlier than anticipated, and it’s been a wonderful experience for their entire family.
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Hillary has a bachelor’s degree in communications and nearly 20 years of experience with expertise in publication relations, strategic communications and crisis management.
ELY REISEN
Mental Health Professional Community Building & Connections
she/her
Ely is a licensed mental health provider, graduate school educator, and single mother via donor sperm. She has vast experience working with concerns stemming from attachment-based trauma.
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Ely developed USDCC’s Donor Conceived Person Centered Professional Development Group, which offers a space for peer consultation with the aim of enhancing mental health professional practices to prioritize DCP needs.
DYLAN STONE-MILLER
Sperm Donor Resources
he/him
Dylan is a former sperm donor, Forbes 30 Under 30 co-founder, and software engineer. He has traveled the world to connect with his recipients and their children after they found him online.
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Dylan leverages his experiences and those of other former sperm donors to develop educational resources and content for past and prospective donors with the goal of helping them make more fully informed choices with integrity.
STEPHANIE WICKER
Recipient Parent Resources
she/her
Stephanie is a nurse practitioner and solo mother by choice. Listening to the voices of donor conceived individuals led her to use a known donor rather than an anonymous donor as planned.
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Stephanie welcomed her son in June 2021. They live in the Midwest and regularly visit with his paternal family. Outside of work and advocacy, Stephanie is an avid hiker and travel lover.
Top Image by Chris Lawton via Unsplash