Illume Fertility Launches Pride Month Campaign Highlighting LGBTQ+ Family-Building, Education and Community Support (original) (raw)

Norwalk, CT, June 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Illume Fertility, a leading fertility practice in the tri-state area providing a best-in-class patient experience and cutting-edge treatments, has announced its 2026 Pride Month campaign featuring community Pride event participation, educational programming, patient storytelling and expanded resources for LGBTQ+ individuals and couples exploring paths to parenthood. Throughout the month of June, Illume Fertility will participate in four Pride Month celebrations across Connecticut and New York while hosting a free in-person LGBTQ+ family-building event at its Norwalk office on June 15. The campaign reflects Illume’s longstanding commitment to LGBTQ+ family-building and inclusive reproductive care, which has remained central to the practice since its founding in 2002.

“Pride Month is an opportunity to celebrate and support a community we’ve proudly served for more than two decades,” said Dr. Mark Leondires, Founder and Medical Director of Illume Fertility. “Having built my own family through surrogacy with my husband, I understand firsthand both the joy and complexity of the family-building journey for LGBTQ+ individuals and couples. We want prospective parents to know they have options, resources, and a care team that truly understands their experience.”

A centerpiece of Illume’s Pride Month campaign is LGBTQ+ Family Building 101, a free educational event taking place Monday, June 15 from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. at Illume Fertility’s Norwalk office, where attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and connect directly with fertility experts and intended parents who have navigated the process firsthand. The event will feature presentations from Dr. Mark Leondires and reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Laura Meyer covering topics including IUI, IVF, reciprocal IVF, egg and sperm donation, gestational surrogacy, genetic testing, insurance, and financial considerations associated with LGBTQ+ family-building. The event will also feature former patients Darren and Marty, an Illume couple who built their family through surrogacy, sharing their personal journey to parenthood.

In addition to hosting educational programming, Illume Fertility will maintain a presence at four regional Pride celebrations throughout June, including Westchester Pride in White Plains, Pride in the Park in Norwalk, the Westport Pride Celebration, and Milford Pride on the Green. Through these events, the practice aims to connect directly with LGBTQ+ individuals and families while providing educational resources and support around fertility and family-building options.

Illume Fertility is also home to Gay Parents to Be, a nationally recognized resource hub offering educational guides, webinars, expert insights, and support tailored specifically for LGBTQ+ family-building. Recognized as an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader by the Human Rights Campaign for eight consecutive years, Illume Fertility has continued to expand access to inclusive reproductive healthcare through specialized provider training, dedicated third-party reproduction expertise, and patient-centered support services designed to meet the unique needs of LGBTQ+ intended parents. Illume is also the only free-standing fertility center in the Northeast recognized as an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader.

For more information about Illume Fertility’s Pride Month events and LGBTQ+ family-building resources, visit illumefertility.com/PRIDE.

About Illume Fertility

Illume Fertility is a leading fertility practice in the tri-state area providing a best-in-class patient experience and cutting-edge treatments by award-winning physicians to help patients achieve their fertility and family-building goals. Led by an expert team of nine highly credentialed, double board-certified reproductive endocrinologists, many of whom have received Castle Connolly's prestigious Top Doctors award, Illume Fertility specializes in a complete range of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) including intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) and egg, embryo and sperm cryopreservation. Recognized as a Healthcare Equality Leader by the Human Rights Campaign for eight consecutive years, and the only free-standing fertility center in the Northeast recognized as an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader, Illume Fertility's commitment to inclusive care includes a world-renowned egg donation and gestational surrogacy program, a dedicated team of third-party reproduction experts, and Gay Parents To Be®, an award-winning resource hub offering tailored support for LGBTQ+ family building. Illume Fertility is the only regional fertility clinic with offices in Connecticut and New York offering comprehensive holistic support services, including in-house nutrition counseling, onsite genetic counselors, fertility acupuncture, yoga for fertility, community events, as well as a network of mental health providers focused on fertility and family-building. Illume Fertility is proud of its exceptional success rates including more than 2,000 surrogacy journeys and 18,000 babies welcomed, and continues to be a leader in patient-centered care, providing compassionate, expert guidance to each prospective parent served.