For years, I balanced two very different worlds.
By day, I was climbing the corporate ladder, eventually leading large operational teams at companies like Bank of America and later serving as a senior executive overseeing multimillion-dollar programs.
Outside the office, another calling was quietly shaping my life: surrogacy.
I spent years climbing the corporate ladder
My time at Bank of America culminated in 2014, when I led a 100-person team as vice president of program operations. I thrived in the fast-paced corporate environment and felt challenged every day. I next worked as the chief project management officer for a finance company and, at a consulting firm, managed technology projects with an operational lens.
My background as a state-qualifying debater and my natural inclination toward systems and structure made my work intuitive. Much of my time at BofA was spent rebuilding inefficient programs and redesigning broken processes. By every traditional measure, I had “made it,” but something from my past kept pulling me away.
While my career was stimulating, I found myself still chasing fulfillment.
I was 26 when I delivered my first baby for another family
I became a surrogate for the first time after having three children of my own and while attending night school to become a nurse, which was my career plan before BofA.
As an adopted person, my definition of family had always been broader than most. When my brother came out as gay, I vividly remember the day he confided in me that one of his greatest fears was not being able to become a parent. That moment left a lasting impression.
For me, becoming a mother had come easily — but I knew that wasn’t true for everyone. I wanted to help people like my brother experience the life-changing joy of parenthood. I loved being pregnant, met all the medical criteria, and applied to be a surrogate.
Over the next 13 years, I carried six children for three families
I helped expand two families through egg donation, and completed my own family — with my IVF-assisted daughter — at 37.
Carrying another person’s child is as intimate as you might imagine. Every intended parent I met was kind, generous, and deeply invested in the process.
What troubled me was the industry itself. I often saw surrogates treated as a means to an end, with inconsistent support and lax standards. Looking back, I shouldn’t have been approved for as many journeys, or as close together, as I was.
Yet despite those flaws, my experiences with third-party reproduction — witnessing new parents hold their babies for the first time and knowing people like my brother had options — affected me in a way I couldn’t shake.
After each journey, I felt called back. Despite my corporate success and the joy I found in motherhood, that pull only grew stronger. After a particularly grueling year in my consulting job, I decided to act on it and quit.
I started my own surrogacy company
In 2019, after years of envisioning what an ethical surrogacy agency could look like, I launched Alcea Surrogacy. My goal was to create a company that prioritized transparency, care, and integrity for everyone involved.
At the time, my children were 1, 13, 17, and 20 years old. Balancing their needs while launching a business felt like climbing a mountain in heels. I often rocked my youngest to sleep while answering client emails late into the night.
As the business grew, I strategized in the quiet hours, a toddler on my lap, while I spoke to clients on two hours of sleep.
The early days were unforgiving
Starting a business is never easy, and launching one during a pandemic made it harder. In 2021, I was flying back and forth between my home in Texas and New York before officially relocating my family there in 2022. I faced skepticism from an industry wary of disruption and judgment from people who didn’t understand my choices. I didn’t let that deter me.
Alcea has since grown into four channels: a referral network connecting surrogates and intended parents with ethical partner clinics; Alcea’s core surrogacy services; a private client division supporting high-profile families seeking discretion; and a philanthropic program assisting intended parents with financial need.
We’ve grown to 23 employees and $5 million in annual revenue, and I’ve surpassed the highest corporate salary I ever earned.
Some things just feel like kismet
From day one, it was clear that the combination of empathy, systems thinking, and grit I’d developed in the corporate world would serve me well as a founder. My healthcare background, repurposed for leadership and project management, taught me how to streamline processes, manage people, and anticipate challenges — lessons that proved invaluable in navigating the complex surrogacy landscape.
Launching Alcea wasn’t just a professional risk; it was deeply personal. I promised myself I’d always put my family first, but I also refused to let fear or expectation dictate my ambitions. Returning to work days after deliveries, breastfeeding while speaking with clients, and managing a growing business while raising four children taught me that determination, focus, and grit can overcome almost anything.
I haven’t found work-life balance, but my career satisfaction is immense. If I say I’ll do it, I’ll do it.
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