This month, we’re excited to spotlight Emily Delgado, one of our incredible Member Advocates! Emily is a purpose-driven healthcare enthusiast with deep expertise in helping families achieve their goals. Before joining Cofertility, she began her career in family-building at the nation’s only adoption agency with an on-site nursery, later focusing on expanding access to insurance-covered lactation support. As a mother of four, her own reproductive health experiences have shaped her belief in empathetic, informed care, and the importance of embracing both challenges and triumphs along the way. At Cofertility, Emily brings this heart and perspective to every interaction, ensuring each member feels seen, supported, and empowered on their family-building journey.
Let’s get to know Emily better:
Q: What drew you to working at Cofertility?
After my youngest turned one, I just started to have this feeling that I wanted to help other people become parents, just like so many people helped my husband and me become parents. It felt in part like a bit of a calling, and in part wanting to leverage my experience and knowledge somewhere I could keep growing. I am a very intentional person, and I was very intentional in my search. When I came across Cofertility, I felt that same intentionality embedded in everything I saw. As soon as I read Cofertility’s stance, I knew this was where I could truly make a difference in the fertility space.
Q: Can you walk us through what a typical day looks like for you?
I think what I really enjoy most about working at Cofertility is that there is no typical day! Our intended parents and Split members all come to us at different points on their paths, and it’s my job to meet them where they are, and help guide them along. In a practical sense though, I usually start the day connecting with my family, and helping set the tone for everyone to have the best day possible. From there, I prioritize what needs my immediate attention in my role as a Member Advocate, prepare for meetings with my intended parents and Split members, and stay tuned to my inbox for anything urgent that comes up. I like to take a break midday to reconnect with my husband, give my dogs some attention before the kids come home, then wrap up any loose ends from the day, and end my work day making a plan for how to best start the next one.
Q: What’s the most rewarding part of supporting members through their family-building process?
Coming at this from a place of honesty, I know nobody’s first choice is to build their family through egg donation. For our intended parents, they’re coming to us considering many paths to parenthood. For our Split members, it’s about figuring out how having a family fits into all the other significant aspects of their lives. I find great joy in taking a process that can feel heavy at times, and doing everything I can to lighten the experience.
Q: Is there a particular member story that has stuck with you?
Maybe I am too sentimental, but I truly have a place in my heart for all of our members. Going back to my feelings on being intentional, I see a lot of that in our matches as well. There is a lot of consideration on both sides of our matches, and that’s a really beautiful part of humanity to see. I will admit, as someone who is very proud of my heritage, I do especially love matches where there is extra emphasis placed on that shared aspect being honored.
Q: How do you approach supporting members who might be feeling anxious or uncertain?
These are totally normal human emotions! I feel anxious and uncertain about minor details on a daily basis, so feeling anxious and uncertain in a process as major as this should be expected. In fact, I would go a step further and say these are good feelings to have and a positive sign that you are being cautious and meticulous in a process that deserves that level of attention! I would say: use these feelings to your advantage, and communicate with your support network, and with me, about what you’re feeling. And then let’s take that nervous energy and break it down and put it to use on a sustainable path forward.
Q: What’s one thing you wish more people knew about egg donation?
When you work with the right people, it can be a completely human-centered experience. I remember when I first found out that I would have to use fertility treatments and technologies to grow my family, it felt like such an obscure, isolating process to me. My husband and I were extremely fortunate to connect with a team that made us feel like they were on our side, and just as invested as we were. This process doesn’t have to be transactional or clinical – it can be about a great group of people getting together and working toward something amazing.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to someone just starting their family-building process, what would it be?
Find ways to maintain your optimism. My journey to parenthood was long – just over 10 years long to be exact – and it was filled with twists and turns. One gift that I feel my family-building process gave me was the gift of time. I had time to read all the books, listen to all the podcasts, go to therapy, build and strengthen my support system – so, by the time I became a parent, I knew the kind of parent I wanted to be, and I now get to be the kind of parent my kids need. I know it’s common to say that nothing prepares you for parenthood or that everyone is a perfect parent until they have kids – but in a process where so much is out of your control, you can take charge of this and arm yourself with knowledge to help you grow.
Q: Outside of work, what do you enjoy doing?
I absolutely adore going to museums. As a Chicago native, I am incredibly fortunate to have access to so many amazing institutions. Despite having visited some of my favorites, like the Field Museum, probably hundreds of times, I have found that there’s always something new to learn! Walking through a museum I have visited repeatedly feels a lot like rereading a favorite book, which is another favorite activity of mine. Our central public library has this gorgeous winter garden, which I love to visit to start reading yet another book!
Q: How do you practice self-care while supporting members through emotional moments?
Compassion fatigue is real, and like many other aspects of my life, I prioritize preventing burnout over having to be reactionary. Maintaining a high level of self-awareness, while not always easy or comfortable, helps me stay grounded to reality. Taking 30 extra minutes out of a busy day to clear my head and regroup is better than frantically stumbling through the week. The work we do here is too important to not do well, and pacing myself helps me achieve the consistency and reliability I want to bring to our members.
Q: What’s one of your proudest moments as a Member Advocate?
Without a doubt, day 1 of joining this team has been my proudest moment. Cofertility is made up of so many intelligent, purposeful, attentive, kindhearted people, and it feels so spectacular to be a part of something like this. While I think it’s typical to feel excited and have a lot of positive energy when you first start a new job, when I think back to that day, it’s incredible to me how I still feel as excited and proud and energized to be here every day since! There’s so much to be proud of working here, and I consistently feel empowered by what I get to do here daily.
