Meet the women featured in 'Stories We Tell: The Fertility Secret'

Adaeze Ojeh-Teme is a Food and Drug Law attorney. As a senior legal advisor, Ada provides strategic direction and counsel on US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated products by developing practical and innovative strategies to solving complex regulatory and compliance issues. Through her initiative, The Solem Project, an organization that focuses on raising awareness for endometriosis, adenomyosis, and infertility by bridging the gap between humanity and the Assisted Reproductive Technology legal process, Ada creates a necessary place for those in between the when, what if, and never of infertility. Ada owns Cherish August, a destination event design and planning boutique based out of Miami, where she lives with her husband, Tari, and their cat, Cleopatra-Maxwell.

Joy Stevens is a New Jersey native who currently lives in Washington, DC. She is a wealth management executive and has been in financial services for over fifteen (15) years and takes great pride in her ability to positively impact financial outcomes for people through the team that she oversees. Joy is an avid traveler and has visited over thirty (30) countries. Her friends and family always ask her “So where to next?” If she hasn’t been there, then it’s probably on her list.

Tracy Agyemang Vroom is an employment attorney and justice, equity, diversity and inclusion consultant. Tracy’s work focuses on counseling public and private sector clients including the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Justice, Fortune 100 orgs, nonprofit orgs, and startups on employment law compliance and equity best practices. Tracy founded her eponymous consulting company and later developed a partnership with Collective (a DEI Lab) out of her desire to go beyond what’s “legal” to what’s impactful on the lives of workers. Her mission is to improve workplace culture so orgs can develop the talents and interests of their people and foster positive work environments. Tracy lives in Cincinnati with her husband, Ebow, and their daughter, Indigo and goldendoodle, Nori.

Whitney Marshall is an entertainment attorney at A+E Networks in New York, NY. Prior to moving to New York, she worked at TV One and Interactive One in Washington, D.C. When she is not closing deals, she can be found leading her dating accountability group called, “Yes to 50,” which holds singles to the promise of going on fifty (50) dates annually in hopes of finding a partner. Whitney is a proud cat-lady who is “mom” to two adorable exotic shorthair cats, Sparta and Arty.

Zakiya Black Barnett is Chief Counsel for the aerospace company Triumph Group, Inc. She began her career as an associate at Pepper Hamilton, LLP where she honed her skills as a corporate attorney and developed an affinity for business development. She often works with small businesses to assist with their legal and development needs. Outside of her legal work, Zakiya is the Founder and Co-CEO of Zyn Beauty, a first of its kind mobile beauty service established in 2014 in Philadelphia to help service the beauty needs of women on-the-go. Zakiya enjoys the arts, keeping up with fashion and beauty trends, travel, cooking and entertaining, sports, and spending time with family and friends.

Stephanie M. Thompson, M.D. is a Reproductive Endocrinologist and Infertility specialist at The Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science (IRMS) at Saint Barnabas in Livingston, NJ. She is an attending physician in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, and Board Certified in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. With special interests in wellness in fertility patients, health disparities in fertility care and oocyte cryopreservation, Dr. Thompson has received many honors in the field and has actively contributed to the scientific literature on the subject. She is a frequent speaker on oocyte cryopreservation having appeared on CNN’s “Birth with Lisa Ling” as well as “The Dr. Oz” show to discuss this emerging technology, and she regularly addresses groups of women contemplating egg freezing to help them navigate the medical and emotional aspects of the process.

Headshots courtesy of Andre Gaines, Linn Washington, Derek Mindler, and Benjamin West.