Interested in learning about family planning?

Join multidisciplinary professionals in a panel discussion about 2SLGBTQ+ family planning and information sharing.

Highlights:

  • Panel
  • Dinner and refreshments

 

Thursday, February 6, 2025

6:00 to 8:30PM

The 519 [519 Church St]

Free, Drop-In.

 

Questions? Email Glitterbug@The519.org

Hosted by:

Jerry Lee (They/Them): The 519 Coordinator Child and Family Programs

Panelists:

Dr. Shirin Dason is a highly accomplished obstetrician-gynecologist and reproductive endocrinologist, with a Bachelor of Science in pharmacology and human biology from the University of Toronto and a Medical Degree from McMaster University. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology, along with a GREI Fellowship at the University of Toronto. Dr. Dason has received numerous honors and is passionate about fertility education, particularly for physicians and high school students. Her clinical practice focuses on reproductive medicine, with a special interest in family planning, fertility preservation, and conditions like endometriosis and PCOS. Her medical expertise as an OBGYN and REI combined with her personal experience as a patient who struggled with infertility, gives her the unique ability to understand the importance of compassionate care.

Michelle Flowerday (she/her), LL.B., is the owner of Flowerday Fertility Law, located in Toronto, Ontario, and the Founder & CEO of Plaid Fertility Law, the first ever web application designed to streamline the creation of and collaboration on surrogacy and donation agreements. She is a passionate advocate for and works closely with the 2SLGBTQIA+, infertility, and single status communities. Michelle is an Officer of the Board of Fertility Friends Foundation and a contributing member of several Ontario fertility clinic ethics committees. Michelle resides in Toronto with her spouse and three teenagers.

Dr. Jarvi is Professor of Surgery, Division of Urology, Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto, Chief of Urology and Director of the Murray Koffler Urologic Wellness Centre, and Clinician Scientist of the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at the Mount Sinai Hospital. He received his urology training at the University of Toronto and his subspecialty training in male infertility at McGill University and the University of California, San Francisco. He helped to establish the fertility program in Urology at the University of Toronto, which has become a well-recognized Canadian centre of excellence for the treatment of male infertility.
Isabelle Lefebvre-Vary (She/Her)

President and Executive Director

Isabelle joined Fertility Friends Foundation in October 2021 and is delighted to be in a role that’s at the perfect intersection of her passions and experience. Isabelle had to deal first hand with infertility which made her more than aware of the financial and emotional struggles it leads to.

She is an experienced non-profit executive leader in strategic and operational management with over 20 years in experience. She developed her passion for fundraising as Vice-President of Development for the French Institute Alliance Française in New York where her main focus was to develop partnerships and increase fundraising. She later joined French Heritage Society as their Executive Director where she was responsible for setting and achieving strategic goals while managing all aspects of the organization.

Isabelle graduated from the Institute of Political Sciences in Lille (France) with majors in politics and communication and has a MA in philosophy and history from La Sorbonne in Paris.

For more than 25 years, I have dedicated myself to supporting individuals and couples who are looking to start or expand their families by becoming parents; through education, coaching and physical support.

As the founder of babyREADY, I have helped thousands of people navigate the journey to parenthood.

My expertise is in the area of Parenting Coaching and Queer Family Planning & Creation. I have extensive experience attending births, guiding parents and educating queer clients about their fertility and options surrounding family creation. I am also an experienced podcaster. These days I am extremely proud of my current podcast, “becoming babyREADY.”

I have also shared my expertise as a featured guest on many international podcasts, CBC Radio, The Toronto Star newspaper, Today’s Parent magazine and other media outlets.

It is my mission to help my 2SLGBTQIA+ clients ‘find the answers to questions they didn’t even know they had

With an educational background in child and youth care, Katie Gibson pronouns (she/her) has held the position of Adoption Worker at Children’s Aid Society of Toronto for the past 14 years. Prior to moving to taking on this role, she worked with foster families and in kinship care.

Katie’s favourite part of working in adoption is connecting children and youth in need of permanency with their forever families and witnessing them thrive. Katie is always seeking to educate and engage families who have unique intersecting identities that reflect the children and youth in need of caregivers.

Catherine Snoddon, she/her is an Adoption Worker/Post Adoption Worker at the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto. Applying her education and experience in both communications and social work, she enjoys working with families across their adoption journeys including birth/first parents, children, young people seeking permanency and those who have built their family through adoption.

Catherine also brings experience working as an Intake Worker, and within the Violence Against Women and mental health sector.