Why We Started SurroStudy
SurroStudy was created to bring greater confidence, independence, transparency, and due diligence to the surrogacy process.
Through years of work in assisted reproduction, we saw a growing need for an independent, surrogacy-specific home evaluation—one designed to better serve Intended Parents, Gestational Surrogates, donors, agencies, IVF clinics, attorneys, and courts without imposing the unnecessary burden of a traditional adoption-level home study.
We also recognized something fundamental to assisted reproduction: the people entering these journeys should have the opportunity to know more about one another. Intended Parents are placing extraordinary trust in the person carrying their child and, when applicable, in the donor helping them build their family. Gestational Surrogates and donors are likewise making deeply personal commitments that can have lifelong significance. Each party deserves access to meaningful, independently gathered information that can help them better understand the people involved, make informed decisions, and move forward with greater confidence.
But recognizing a need was not enough. We believed the industry needed action. Rather than waiting for courts to begin requiring adoption-level home studies, or for problems to expose gaps in existing due diligence, we built a proactive solution specifically for surrogacy.
That proactive approach is increasingly important. The surrogacy landscape is changing. Recent federal Executive Orders and heightened national attention surrounding birthright citizenship, immigration, and so-called “birth tourism” have brought greater scrutiny to international families having children in the United States. While these developments do not change state surrogacy laws, they can affect the broader legal environment in which international Intended Parents and parentage proceedings are being considered.
Judges are often being asked to enter parentage orders for families they know very little about, including parents who may live thousands of miles away. Our philosophy is simple: we should give courts more meaningful information, not less. SurroStudy provides a practical way to proactively demonstrate who these parents are, the home and family environment they will provide, and the thoughtful due diligence that has been completed—without unnecessarily turning a surrogacy proceeding into an adoption.
SurroStudy combines specially trained Licensed Social Workers, independent home evaluations, background screening, references, identity verification, and secure technology to provide meaningful information and an additional layer of protection for everyone involved.
Just as importantly, we stay in our lane. Psychological evaluations belong with qualified mental health professionals; home and family evaluations are the specialty of trained social workers. Our LSWs bring experience in family and home assessments and receive additional training specific to the unique dynamics of gestational surrogacy and assisted reproduction.
SurroStudy was built as a private, independent company, free from agency, clinic, or international ownership or control. From our secure digital platform and strict confidentiality protocols to our non-managing advisory Leadership Board, every aspect of SurroStudy was designed around independence, professionalism, and trust.
Creating SurroStudy was our action. Using these tools is the industry’s opportunity to take action. Agencies, attorneys, clinics, and other professionals now have a practical way to strengthen their due diligence, protect the families and individuals they serve, promote greater transparency between the people entering these relationships, and demonstrate that our industry is willing to be proactive in protecting the integrity and future of surrogacy and assisted reproduction.
Our purpose is simple: protect the people involved, safeguard the integrity and future of the industry, and give everyone the opportunity to move forward with greater knowledge and confidence.
Executive Team
Stephanie Caballero
Chelsea Caldwell
Said Daneshmand
Rich Geisler
SurroStudy Operations
SurroStudy’s Operations Team is responsible for the secure administration and day-to-day management of the SurroStudy platform and evaluation process. The Operations Team oversees all client-facing and administrative functions, ensuring each evaluation is completed efficiently, professionally, and in accordance with SurroStudy’s confidentiality and quality standards.
The Operations Team is responsible for:
- Managing the SurroStudy platform and secure client portal.
- Coordinating all communications with intended parents, surrogates, agencies, attorneys, and Licensed Social Workers (LSWs).
- Administering client intake, questionnaires, document collection, and scheduling.
- Protecting and maintaining all confidential client information and uploaded documentation.
- Assigning and coordinating Licensed Social Workers for evaluations.
- Monitoring evaluation progress and ensuring timely completion of reports.
- Conducting quality assurance and report generation prior to release.
- Managing user permissions and platform access in accordance with SurroStudy's least-privilege information governance policies.
- Implementing additional agency-specific confidentiality restrictions when requested and operationally appropriate. As the platform has been designed to be as limiting as the agency/client desires.
- Maintaining compliance with SurroStudy's privacy, security, and ethical standards.
Operations Team
