About Us
Who’s Who on Our Staff
We are a team of individuals who genuininely care about you and assisting you in the expansion of your family. We are proud of our team, and we look forward to working with you.
Diane Michelsen has found her calling in the family formation field. Licensed to practice law in California and Hawaii, she also has a Masters degree in Social Work and has practiced family counseling and mediation. Her optimistic, innovative and “can do” approach has led to her recognition as a groundbreaking leader in the family formation field.
Megan Cohen met Diane 23 years ago when she placed her baby for adoption through Diane’s firm. This was the most important decision of Megan’s life, and she has maintained her interest in the family building field ever since. After teaching high school English for nearly a decade, Megan completed law school to pursue her dream of working in adoptions. Megan has intimate knowledge of what it means to place a child, to choose the child’s parents, and to both stay connected and reunite with the adopting family.
Donna is our Gestational Carrier Coordinator. She works with both Intended Parents and Gestational Carriers and helps keep the surrogacy process moving smoothly. She excels at helping the two parties harmonize their relationships and goals.
Dory is our Surrogate Coordinator. Dory’s philanthropic nature drove her to pursue something more meaningful and personally rewarding. Having been a surrogate herself she knew the field of family building would be the perfect fit. She understands firsthand both the clinical and emotional complexities of the surrogacy journey and she is able to relate to clients on a personal level. She considers it a joy and a privilege to have a small part in creating a family and she is always happy to answer questions and provide reassurance and emotional support to both surrogates and intended parents.
Karen is our Office Manager – Legal Assistant. She provides general support to our office and is the first person you encounter when you come to Family Formation. She manages all aspects of office operations.
Linda is our Adoption Case Manager. She handles the nonlegal aspects of our adoption cases. She is delightfully detail-oriented and consistently shows patience and good humor.
Mindy is our Adoption Case Manager. She and Linda work as a team to make sure the details of every case are managed closely and seamlessly. A mother of three kids, two daughters came into her family through adoption. Mindy knew that at some point she would work in the adoption field. A chance encounter lead her to find this position with Family Formation,where she was first a client. Just as her family was meant to be, so she considers working to help other parents build families through adoption.