About Us
The Surrogacy Center
The Surrogacy Center (TSC) was founded in 2002 in Madison, Wisconsin, and is currently owned by Clare Sorman and Julie Frieler. TSC is based in the Twin Cities area and works with clients from all over the midwest and beyond.
A place where individuals and couples can come and know they are in capable hands
The Surrogacy Center’s clients are individuals and couples, gay and straight, who choose to come to the friendly Midwestern center where they know they will be thoughtfully matched and given personal attention by experienced and caring staff. Past clients have written many glowing reviews, based on the unique combination of professionalism and individual treatment that is offered. The many babies that have been born through the program have changed and will continue to change many lives, both now and for decades to come.
We are proud that our Agency is 100% woman-owned and staffed. Julie and Clare are committed to adhering to their principles of experience, kindness and efficiency when managing their business and working with their clients, and are passionate about helping build families and fostering life-long relationships.
Clare M. Sorman – Co-owner and Operations Director
Clare has almost 25 years of experience organizing and managing offices for corporate, political and nonprofit organizations. Her work as an Office Manager, Case Manager and Paralegal for local Minnesota businesses specializing in family therapy, family planning and family law has given her a wide berth of knowledge on how to manage complex situations where she is adept at fitting together a variety of moving parts, resulting in the highest standards of professional and organizational principles and positive outcomes for her clients. Her passion is helping to build healthy families and to assist them by providing resources toward living the best possible lives. Clare has lived in the Twin Cities area for 20+ years and is married to Dave, a local family building attorney. They have two boys who are the lights of their lives and remind them every day that children are a gift. Clare has two cats and enjoys gardening, cooking, antiquing, and adventuring with her family and friends.
Julie Frieler, RN – Co-owner and Client Services Director
Julie Frieler, RN, has been a Registered Nurse for over 15 years in a variety of clinical settings, with most of those years in women’s health, including fertility. Julie’s background in reproductive medicine and passion for connecting with people are what drove her to TSC as a Client Coordinator, then on to Case Management Director and eventually co-owner. She has helped those struggling with fertility build families and has seen and felt first-hand the intensities of this journey. Julie is honored to be a trusted partner with you along this journey to building your family. Julie has lived in the Twin Cities for most of her life. She and her husband have 3 beautiful, rambunctious little boys who keep them on their toes. Raising her family is her life-long dream, as she knows it is for many people.
Lindsey Syverson, MS RD LD – GC Intake Coordinator
Lindsey Syverson, MS RD LD has been a dietitian in the wellness field since 2009. She specializes in healthy weight management, including counseling those who have gone through weight loss surgery. She has personal experience with infertility and went through IVF procedures to have her four kids. Her empathy for those considering non-traditional ways to expand their families led her to become a gestational carrier in 2019. She and her Intended Parents welcomed a baby boy in 2020, and a baby girl in 2022. Lindsey understands that beginning the gestational carrier process can seem intimidating and her goals are to answer all questions and make sure every gestational carrier candidate is well prepared for the potential pregnancy journey. Lindsey has lived in Minnesota all her life. She and her husband are raising their family on a hobby farm outside of the Twin Cities.
Kim Jones, RN – IP Intake Coordinator
Kim’s role as the Intended Parent Intake Coordinator is to educate and guide prospective IPs through the application process with The Surrogacy Center. Kim comes to TSC as an RN with a background in women’s health, including triage nursing and care coordination in out-patient obstetrics, bedside labor and delivery and postpartum care, and fertility nurse care coordination. Kim is also well qualified to provide medical record review for our Gestational Carrier applicants. She loves how her role with TSC brings her nursing and care coordination experience to the world of surrogacy, and she hopes to provide peace of mind from the very beginning of the journey! Born and raised in the Twin Cities, Kim now lives with her husband, Kyle, two kids, and two golden doodles in New Brighton, Minnesota. After a rocky road to parenthood herself, Kim feels her personal history of infertility and multiple IVF attempts help her bring a unique perspective to her work with intended parents. In her free time, Kim enjoys spending long summer days at the cabin on the pontoon or kayak, always with a dog in tow, watching her kids pursue their interests, and dabbling in interior design.
ASRM Guidelines
Gestational carriers may be used when a true medical condition precludes the intended parent from carrying a pregnancy or would pose a significant risk to the woman or the fetus.
No owner, operator, laboratory director, or employee of the practice may serve as a gestational carrier or intended parent in that practice.
Psychosocial education and counseling by a qualified mental health professional is strongly recommended for both gestational carriers and intended parents.
Both intended parents and gestational carriers should have separate, ongoing legal representation by qualified legal practitioners who are licensed in the relevant state(s) and/or countries.
Issues related to screening and testing of the fetus during pregnancy should be discussed and documented. Plans for management of complications and/or multifetal gestations should be discussed and agreed upon.
The Surrogacy Center Policy
The indication of medical necessity must be documented in the intended parents’ medical records (includes biological inability to conceive or bear a child, such as single male or same-sex male couple).
As a professional agency, we believe it is important to maintain this separation between our staff and our clients.
100% of our intended parents and gestational carriers undergo a psychological evaluation with one of our mental health professionals (includes the PAI test) and there is no separate charge for this.
We require independent legal representation for all parties (intended parents, gestational carrier and husband or partner, and The Surrogacy Center agency) by attorneys licensed in the state where the gestational carrier lives.
We facilitate discussion of these sensitive, yet critical topics and take detailed notes, which are then incorporated into the Parentage Agreement for review by all parties prior to signing.
