When SEEDS, the Society for Ethics for Egg Donation and Surrogacy, decided it needed standards for its industry members (surrogacy and egg donor agencies), it asked Diane to be its chair. Diane is a respected leader in the field of assisted reproduction, both as an agency owner and a legal expert. Diane is an elected Fellow of the American Association of Assisted Reproductive Attorneys. She is also a member of the American Bar Association’s Reproduction Law Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology. Diane is a professional member of the RESOLVE organization (an organization that provides education, advocacy and support to men and women facing infertility issues), as well as a professional member of ASRM (the American Society of Reproductive Medicine) and a member of its Legal Practices Group.
A cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and a member of the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland Bars, Diane was the first woman to serve as General Counsel of the FCC, and she was the first woman to be referred to as “Ms.” by the New York Times!
Diane is regularly sought-after by the media, the research community, and academia for her opinions on issues relating to reproductive rights and gestational surrogacy. In addition, for many years, Diane fielded questions as the legal expert on the widely read “Ask Attorney Diane Hinson, Esq.” forum on the popular surromomsonline.com website.
Diane has written about surrogacy in the metropolitan DC area as well as nationwide. Under Diane’s direction and authorship, Creative Family Connections prepared the first-ever interactive map of surrogacy law by state called The US Surrogacy Law Map™. as it is practiced across America.
Diane decided to become a single parent after her first marriage did not survive fertility challenges. She adopted a baby from a Russian orphanage – a decision she describes as “the best thing I ever did.” After subsequently meeting and marrying her current husband, and with the image of the orphanage children etched indelibly in her memory, Diane and her husband chose to return to Russia to expand their family by adopting a baby boy.
Opening CFC’s doors to gay clientele was simply a non-issue for Diane. She abhors discrimination of any type, and she has close friends and family who are gay – her best male friend in law school, her brother-in-law who is also her son’s godfather, and gay friends with adopted children who were her mentors while she was adopting. She has seen first-hand, therefore, that everyone can make a wonderful parent. To this end, Diane is a regular guest teacher on the topic of surrogacy for same-sex parents at the “Maybe Baby” class for the LGBT community in Washington DC (formerly sponsored by the Whitman Walker Clinic and currently sponsored by Rainbow Families DC). She is passionate about creating opportunities for parents of all types to build families, and this consistently comes across in her presentations and in her representation of single and same-sex clients.
Diane founded Creative Family Connections on the principle that “everyone can build a family.” Creative Family Connections is committed to helping all Intended Parents build their families through non-traditional means, and Diane is particularly sensitive to the hurdles facing Intended Parents in building non-traditional families.
Learn more about Diane Hinson’s journey to parenthood and watch more of our videos.
