Click here to learn more about Geoff & Andrew (PDF)
Click here to read letter from Geoff & Andrew’s previous Surrogate (PDF)
Information about you:
“Hi! We are Geoff and Andrew, a married couple living in Toronto with our 2-year-old toddler, Ellie, Andrew’s mother, Halmoni (Korean for “grandma”), and our Boston Terrier, Mansae (Korean for “hooray!”). We met in 2011 in New York City where we were introduced by mutual friends. Andrew was a lively conversationalist, lapsed concert pianist, and pursuing a not-for-profit career, all of which Geoff found appealing; Andrew was drawn to Geoff’s easy smile, earnest warmth, and intrigued by someone so tall (at 6’4″). Soon we were living together in Brooklyn and contemplating starting a family, which was a shared aspiration since the earliest days of our dating. We ultimately married in New York City in 2016 and moved to Toronto, where we’ve lived ever since, near Geoff’s family.”
Upbringing and family:
“Geoff was born in Montreal, but raised in Toronto in the West End, the youngest of three brothers. He was fortunate to be brought up in a loving household with strong family values. Skiing in the winters and water skiing in the summers anchor many memories of Geoff’s childhood, with him desperately wanting to be as strong and fast as his older brothers. Geoff became class president of his high school before moving onto engineering studies at university, followed by an intense volunteer period at an HIV/AIDS hospital in rural Cameroon, after which he earned his law degree. Andrew’s story starts in Chicago where he was born to hard-scrabble immigrant parents from South Korea. Growing up with few means, his family focused on academics, which propelled Andrew through high school, university (where he earned a PhD), and law school (though he never actually practiced as a real lawyer!). Throughout, Andrew was a serious classical pianist, competing and concertizing internationally, though at this point, it is a dear hobby (if he can make time for it!). Together, we both come from strong family roots and had always harbored the intention to continue that tradition in our own lives. To that end, we are enjoying every moment of raising our daughter, Ellie, who we earnestly regard as a miracle (even as she resists potty training!). Andrew’s mother, Soon, lives with us in our home in Toronto, and has been an integral part of the family; we are constantly grateful for her help and wisdom.”
Info about fertility:
“Having a family together has been an aspiration since very early in our relationship. As a same-sex couple, we knew our pathways to family were limited, and surrogacy was always our preferred approach. We began that journey in earnest in 2019, and are now profoundly grateful to our first surrogate, who brought us our daughter, Ellie, in 2023. A sweet and inquisitive toddler at 2 years old, Ellie has completely reordered our lives as we discover who she is and who we are as her parents. It has been challenging, delightful, humbling, and utterly fulfilling. But sadly for us, while our surrogate had been excited to do two journeys, she was medically advised not to pursue another pregnancy after Ellie was born. We have since been waiting for the right person to bring Ellie a sibling and to complete our family. We are fully “embryo-ready” to pursue a sibling journey with 8 frozen embryos between us. We can’t wait to get our journey started and are eager to meet the surrogate who wants to jump into this sibling adventure!”
Home / neighborhood:
“Our family lives in the High Park North neighborhood in Toronto’s West End. It is a quintessential family-oriented community with a vibrant mix of homes, demographics, and families. We live with Ellie and our dog, Mansae, on the upper two floors of our century-old home. Andrew’s mother lives in her own separate unit on the main floor of the house, which means that “Halmoni” (which is what Ellie calls her) is always close by! Geoff’s parents live a 10-minute drive away and are also a regular presence in her life, along with both of Geoff’s brothers’ families and their four kids, all well within driving distance. Our house has plenty of space, a backyard, but more importantly, overlooks the neighbourhood park with a full playground, splash pad, and water park, which Ellie has already grown to love. It’s also a neighbourhood full of schools, pools, rinks, gyms, birds and animals (between the High Park zoo and chicken coop next door). We love where we live, and feel all the more fortunate to have all of our family so close by!”
Other details:
“As one of our mentors put it, these are “the busy years,” and we certainly feel that every day! Geoff built his legal career at a hard-charging law firm before shifting to an in-house role to create space to focus on family. Andrew too made a similar shift from an intense management consulting firm to a role in philanthropy focused on economic development for Africa and Indigenous Canada at Canada’s largest private foundation, which means he also travels regularly to Africa for work. While both of us still have demanding careers, we have also made conscious choices to ensure we can focus energies on things that matter to us deeply, especially Ellie and our extended family. We were delighted to add our dog, Mansae, to the family during the pandemic (yes, on the “pandemic puppy” bandwagon!), and can’t imagine a world without her. Andrew still plays piano semi-regularly — with Ellie gamely banging on the keys — and Geoff is keen to get her into skiing (both downhill and water) the second she’s old enough. We spend much of our summers with the extended family at Geoff’s parents’ cottage, and try to keep up our volunteer and charitable activities (Geoff is affiliated with an HIV/AIDS hospital, and Andrew is keen to support arts organizations). Somewhere in there, we also have our book club, which keeps up our reading habit! Between work, family, and fun, we lead full and fulfilling lives, and want very much to share this with Ellie and, hopefully, her sibling (one day soon!).”
Supporting our surrogate:
“The relationship with our first surrogate remains happy, positive, and smooth, which means we, as experienced intended parents, have a strong sense of the dynamics of surrogacy. We would, therefore, of course, ensure our surrogate would be treated with utmost support and respect — for her health, well-being, and for the amazing role she is playing in building our family. Throughout, her related expenses would be covered as expected, and assuming an open line of communication throughout the journey, we would be alive to all the other ways our interactions, communication, and engagement would support our surrogate through the ups and downs of any healthy journey. While it’s not possible to predict exactly what responsive, respectful, and fulsome support looks like upfront given that every combination of people and circumstances is entirely unique, we can say with a great deal of confidence that we would be flexible, thoughtful, and respectful throughout to be as helpful and supportive as we could possibly be!”
Type of relationship:
“We are open to a wide variety of relationships and styles of communication depending on how the relationship unfolds and our mutual preferences. For example, with Ellie’s surrogate, we had several early get-to-know-each-other video calls, culminating in a few in-person get-togethers to cement the relationship. Throughout the actual pregnancy, we were very active in a group chat, sending daily missives or random photos and jokes, and generally keeping tabs on how things were going day to day. We joined all major milestone medical appointments in person, and other more routine check-ups virtually (using FaceTime), and made arrangements to be in the room for delivery (which was utterly amazing). And ever since Ellie’s arrival, we have maintained regular contact over text — hellos and funny happenings in our respective families — with an annual in-person visit to our surrogate’s home where we catch up with her husband and four daughters over BBQ and the backyard pool. It’s lovely! But we also know that every surrogacy relationship is unique and will settle into its own, special rhythm. We can totally see how our next surrogate might end up in a similar dynamic as our current surrogate. But we can also readily imagine situations where perhaps the relationship is a little “lighter” (like with our egg donor, whom we also know and love) or more intense if the relationship compatibility hits an even deeper note. It’s impossible to know exactly what it will look like until we build the relationship, but upfront, we can certainly commit to open communications, respect, and honesty — all of which are essential ingredients to building happy and healthy relationships, no matter what specific form it ultimately takes!”
Final Message:
“Having now experienced the joy that Ellie has brought us over the last two years, we are that much more “ready” to get on with the sibling journey! Before Ellie, our appreciation for what a surrogate does was immense, but more theoretical; now we live it every day, from mealtimes to bedtimes, and experience it for the profound gift that it is. In us as intended parents, you will get experience, open and honest communication, thoughtful support and engagement, and an unwavering concern for your health and well-being throughout. We tell everyone about Ellie’s journey and the amazing surrogate that brought her to us; your story with us on a sibling journey would become part of that family lore, proudly and loudly shared with anyone who is interested enough to listen! We have built a lasting and wondrous relationship with Ellie’s surrogate and her family, and we hope we can do the same with the surrogate for Ellie’s sibling. To that end, thank you so much for reading our profile, getting to know us as humans, and we can’t wait to meet you!”