Ronda Blair
Ronda Blair is a dedicated leader in the fertility and family-building industry with extensive experience in surrogacy case management, program leadership, and client advocacy. She currently serves as Lead Case Manager at Fairfax Surrogacy, where she supports intended parents and surrogates through the complex process of building families through gestational surrogacy. Blair is known for her strong communication skills, team leadership, and ability to guide clients through emotionally and logistically demanding journeys with compassion and professionalism.
Blair’s career in the surrogacy field began through a deeply personal experience. Eleven years ago, while navigating a divorce and raising her children as a single mother, she discovered an opportunity in a newspaper advertisement to become a surrogate. She chose to carry a child for another family, an experience that profoundly changed her life and sparked a lasting passion for helping others build families. Blair ultimately completed two surrogate journeys, and during her second journey she transitioned into a professional role in the industry. Her firsthand perspective as a surrogate has shaped her approach to supporting both intended parents and gestational carriers, allowing her to connect with clients on a uniquely personal level.
In her role at Fairfax Surrogacy, Blair manages relationships and logistics across the entire surrogacy journey, coordinating closely with fertility clinics, attorneys, monitoring centers, escrow agencies, hospitals, and obstetric providers. She oversees appointments and timelines, maintains constant communication with all parties involved, and ensures each step of the process runs smoothly. In addition to managing cases, she helps develop more efficient systems and educational resources for clients and team members. The work is both highly rewarding and demanding, often requiring availability at all hours for critical moments such as early labor, deliveries, or unexpected complications. Blair’s dedication, empathy, and operational leadership make her a trusted advocate for families navigating one of the most meaningful journeys of their lives.
• Waubonsee Community College - ABA
• RC Crawler Competition Winner (3 years)
• Member of SEEDS (ethical surrogacy/egg donation organization)
• Girl Scout Leader
• Rugby Program Support
What do you attribute your success to?
My success in this industry really comes from having lived the experience myself. I started as a surrogate when I was going through a divorce and trying to make ends meet as a single mom. I found an ad in the newspaper and decided to carry a child for someone else. That personal journey gave me such a deep understanding and passion for this work that I knew I had to be part of it professionally. I completed two surrogate journeys, and during my second one, I transitioned into working in the field. What I've learned is that personal connections are absolutely huge in this industry. You need to have a lot of empathy and be able to provide support and understanding throughout the journey. Having that sales training has been important too, because it helps me make those personal connections with everyone. But I think the most important thing is being able to provide the empathy that's needed throughout the process. When I started in my first professional role, the other case manager was actually asking me questions because of my experience as a surrogate, and I was sharing what was needed from that perspective. That firsthand knowledge of what surrogates and intended parents go through has been invaluable in helping me support families through their journeys.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The first thing I would say is that you need to have a lot of empathy. But you also need to know that it's not always sun and rainbows. There are difficult times, and a lot of people that come into this industry don't realize how difficult this job is. You're supporting an intended parent or a surrogate through struggles, and there are times when you're dealing with a difficult situation with one journey but you still have to manage the rest of them. So you're trying to juggle so many things all at one time. It's never a dull moment here, and it's never quiet or slow either. It's always non-stop from start of your day to end of your day and past that. You're also pretty much on call all the time. If a surrogate goes into labor early, or she's delivering, or she's having a miscarriage, you need to be able to be there for them too. It really is about being able to provide all the support and having the emotional resilience to handle the challenging moments alongside the joyful ones.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges we're seeing is that surrogates are asking for more and more money lately, and a lot of intended parents who are looking to do this type of process to grow their family, because it's their only option, financially can't do it anymore. That's a really difficult situation for everyone involved. Other challenges include when something negative happens, like a loss or a failed transfer. Some of the parents have been through this before, but the surrogates might not have ever been through that before, so they don't know how to handle it either. It's a lot of being able to provide all the support during those difficult moments. You're dealing with difficult situations while still having to manage all your other journeys at the same time, juggling so many things all at once. And because we're on call all the time for deliveries, early labor, or miscarriages, the demands are constant and require a lot of emotional resilience.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my work, making personal connections is absolutely essential. This industry is built on those relationships, and being able to provide support and empathy throughout the journey is what matters most. I'm there to hold everyone's hand and ensure things go well, especially when journeys aren't going smoothly and there are hiccups and issues along the way. One of my biggest achievements is working with an intended parent and a surrogate where the journey is not going well, they're having problems, and we're there to manage it. Then at the end, when baby is arriving and everything finally goes smoothly and perfectly, that's what makes it all worthwhile. Outside of work, I balance the emotional intensity of the job with activities that bring me joy. I ride motorcycles and I'm part of a women-only social motorcycle riding group. I've been riding for about 9 years total. I also compete in RC Crawler competitions, and I've won 3 years and it looks like I'm winning this year as well. We do a lot of boating and camping. I'm also very involved in my daughter's life as her Girl Scout leader, and I'm part of some rugby programs where we provide support to grow the sport.