ABOUT US
THE GOLD STANDARD
Growing Generations is the gold standard surrogacy agency, known for delivering the most premium service in the fertility space. For nearly three decades, we have been at the forefront of making parenthood a reality for those who aspire to leave a legacy.
Our team customizes a service approach for every surrogacy journey, supporting each one of our clients with personalized attention and care no matter what the challenges to family-building may be
AT GROWING GENERATIONS
At Growing Generations, our mission goes beyond creating paths to parenthood—
IT’S ABOUT MAKING SURE THE JOURNEY TO GET THERE IS THE FULFILLING AND ENRICHING EXPERIENCE IT DESERVES TO BE.
LEADERSHIP
TEO MARTINEZ
CEO
GROWING GENERATIONS
Teo earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and his MBA at Pepperdine University, Malibu. He began his career with Growing Generations in 1998, when surrogacy and egg donation were still in their infancy. Having worked in every department at GG, today Teo oversees the company’s strategic development and the delivery of GG’s renowned customer care and satisfaction. A husband, father of two, and one of six children himself, he loves that he gets to help people create families. Teo is filled with gratitude to be part of so many miracles, victories, and heartwarming success stories. In addition to being part of these extraordinary journeys, he believes he has the best co-workers in the world and feels privileged to go to work with them each day.
ERICA HORTON
PRESIDENT
GROWING GENERATIONS
Erica began her career at Growing Generations as a college intern in 2003. Like most people at the time, she had no direct experience with the fertility world, but she was immediately intrigued when she read an internship listing titled “marketing intern needed for gay surrogacy agency” (we have always helped all prospective parents but back in the early days you had to say it explicitly). As a queer woman and someone with a gay father, she already had a passion for LGBTQ+ people and families. She had a general idea of what surrogacy was but had never thought of the two coming together in such an intentional way. She at once knew she had to be a part of what Growing Generations was doing. When she reflects back, she says “I can vividly recall the moment I saw the internship posting, the moment I received a call for an interview, and the day of my interview-down to the clothes I was wearing and the excitement I felt.”
Her role in the company has expanded significantly since 2003, and now—as President—she oversees all departments that manage care for intended parents, surrogates, and donors. She is proud to have been part of establishing Growing Generations as one of the most experienced and reputable agencies in the world. She believes our start working intentionally with the underserved LGBTQ community required us to break barriers and forge paths where none existed before and that still is one of our core strengths today. Erica served on Family Equality’s Board of Directors for 9 years and served as Board Chair for 2 of those years. She has two children: Gavin, born in 2009 and Jack, born in 2012. Both boys were conceived with the help of a sperm donor. Erica is passionate about ALL people realizing their dream to have a family. Outside of work Erica loves spending time with her boys and her partner, Dan; together they love the beach, being in the ocean, riding bikes, traveling, cooking, and trying new foods.
KIM BERGMAN, PhD
SENIOR PARTNER,
GROWING GENERATIONS
Kim Bergman, PhD, a licensed psychologist since 1990, has specialized in the area of gay and lesbian parenting, parenting by choice and third party assisted reproduction for over two decades. Dr. Bergman has created a comprehensive psychological screening, support and monitoring process for intended parents, surrogates and donors. She is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (serving as a founder and past Chair of the LGBTQ Special Interest Group, past Chair of the Corporate Member Council, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Mental Health Professional Group, having served as a past Chair), the American Psychological Association, the Los Angeles County Psychological Association, the Lesbian and Gay Psychotherapy Association, and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. She is on the national Emeritus board of the Family Equality. Dr. Bergman writes, teaches and speaks extensively on parenting by choice. Along with co-authors, she published “Gay Men Who Become Fathers via Surrogacy: The Transition to Parenthood” (Journal of GLBT Family Studies, April 2010) and “Gay Fathers by Surrogacy: Prejudice, Parenting, and Well-being of Female and Male Children” (Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, June 2019). Dr. Bergman is the author of, Your Future Family: The Essential Guide to Assisted Reproduction (Conari Press 2019) and You Began as a Wish (Independent Press 2019) and along with co-editor Bill Petok, Psychological and Medical Perspectives on Fertility Care and Sexual Health (Elsevier, 2021). Dr. Bergman created her own family using third party assisted reproduction and she lives with her wife of over four decades. She has two adult daughters.
STUART BELL
SENIOR PARTNER,
GROWING GENERATIONS
Stuart has been a Partner at Growing Generations since 2001. Prior to joining Growing Generations, he spent over a decade in executive level positions in both profit and not-for-profit companies. As a writer with a strong emphasis on gay rights issues, his work has appeared in numerous publications over the past 30+ years. He is the author of Prayer Warriors, a memoir published in 1999 by Alyson publications. In February 2008, Stuart and his husband welcomed their son into the world who was conceived through Growing Generations’ surrogacy and egg donation programs. He is active as a donor and volunteer with local and national organizations including Human Rights Campaign, Family Equality Council, LA Gay & Lesbian Center and Youth Emerging Stronger. He served for 10 years on the board of the American Fertility Association (now a program of Family Equality), four of those as co-chair. He is the founder and Co-Chair of The Del Shores Foundation, a non-profit which amplifies and nurtures the voices of LGBTQ+ writers who live in Southern states. A native of Tennessee, Stuart holds a degree in Communications from Middle Tennessee State University and has lived in Los Angeles since 1992.