"Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much"
- Helen Keller
We are people, we are patients, we are professionals, and we all have one thing in common. We truly care, and with your generosity we can turn hope into help, and help people achieve the family they've dreamed of
- fertility action
Our Mission
Fertility Action is dedicated to supporting those navigating the financial and emotional challenges of their fertility journey.
We work alongside individuals, communities, healthcare providers, and corporate partners to enhance fertility education, improve access to care, and advocate for policies that ensure equitable, inclusive family-building opportunities for all.
- The future
Our Vision
A future where every person has the power, support and knowledge to confidently choose their fertility path.
- Meet the people
Our Trustees
Emma Whitney
Emma Whitney
Chair of Trustees
Emma Whitney is the Director of Embryology and Genetics for the Evewell fertility clinic group, a group of two clinics that's entire ethos encompasses patient centred care. Emma is also Emma the embryologist on Instagram.
Emma has been a clinically practicing embryologist for 22 years, has worked in both the NHS and private settings, and has an expertise in genetic disease and the pre-implantation testing of embryos for the removal of disease inheritance in families.
Emma's passion is to educate, at every age, to ensure people are informed about their reproductive options with a realistic expectation. The aim is to allow people to make informed decisions and lessen the anxiety associated with a fertility treatment journey.
Mr Jonathan Ramsay
Mr Jonathan Ramsay
Trustee
“I am very pleased to be involved with this exciting new charity. Fertility,and helping men and women to fulfil their ambitions is not just about science and IVF. Inclusive access, education, and sympathy and support are all vital extra components which this charity will work to provide”
Jonathan graduated from the University of London, St Bartholomew’s Hospital in 1977, gaining an MS in 1987 and FRCS in Urology in the same year. Jonathan is a Consultant Urologist, who practices in London, exclusively in the field of male fertility. Formerly appointed at Hammersmith Hospital (Imperial College Healthcare) and Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, he maintains links with Imperial as an HFEA Licence Holder. Currently, he advises male patients referred from the Lister Fertility Clinic in London (2500 cycles of treatment per year) and at the Agora Clinic in Brighton.
Consulting practice involves patients from all over the country, and so Jonathan has great insight into nationwide fertility services and practice. He has set-up the first advanced one-stop male fertility diagnostic centre, aimed at the investigation and treatment especially for couples who have unexplained infertility, and who have failed IVF and ICSI cycles.
This practice gives considerable insight into patients, increasing awareness that the male factor is not surprisingly 50% of the problem, and that therefore men need treatment, not merely more cycles of IVF and ICSI. Most recent publications include a review of worldwide practice in varicocele, both relevance and treatment, and about the possible significance of the ‘genital tract microbiome’.
Dr Carole Gilling-Smith
Dr Carole Gilling-Smith, MA (Cantab), FRCOG, PhD
Trustee
Carole is the CEO, Medical Director and founder of the Agora, the largest fertility centre in Sussex with clinics in Brighton, Eastbourne and Worthing. A Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and renowned fertility expert, Carole is a leading advocate for inclusive, patient-centric fertility care in the UK dedicated to ensuring that individuals from all backgrounds, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, health, or financial status, have equal access to fertility services and receive the very best emotional support combined with medical expertise throughout their parenting journey.
Beyond the clinic, Carole is a highly respected researcher and lecturer, sharing her expertise in reproductive medicine and clinical leadership both nationally and internationally. She graduated in Medicine from Cambridge and completed her PhD thesis on the genetics of polycystic ovary syndrome at Imperial College, London. In 1999, she established the first UK program to help those living with HIV have children safely and is a highly respected authority on the provision of inclusive fertility care to those from the LBGTQIA+ community.
She has actively campaigned over many years to help achieve equality and improved NHS fertility funding for patients in Sussex who are now entitled to 3 fully funded IVF cycles as well as donor egg and donor sperm treatments. She is also passionate about educating patients and young people about their reproductive options to empower them to make more informed choices.
In addition to being a founding member and Trustee of Fertility Access UK, she is also a Trustee for the charity Donor Conception Network UK.
Dr Grace Lee-Brindle
Dr Grace Lee-Brindle
Trustee
Grace is a Clinical Psychologist specialising in fertility-related mental health. With a doctorate from the University of Surrey and over a decade of experience in mental health services, Grace brings valuable clinical expertise to her new role as trustee.
As founder of Hope in Mind Psychology, Grace specialises in supporting individuals and couples through the emotional complexities of fertility journeys. Her practice integrates evidence-based approaches including Compassion Focused Therapy, EMDR for trauma processing, and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, providing a comprehensive framework for addressing the often overlooked psychological aspects of fertility challenges.
Grace's interest in trauma-informed fertility care stems from both professional experience and personal understanding, having experienced her own fertility struggles. This perspective drives her commitment to transform how fertility services address emotional wellbeing.
Grace joined Fertility Action because of their commitment to improving nationwide access to fertility treatment and supporting patients' emotional wellbeing. She believes quality fertility care should be accessible to all.
In her trustee position, Grace aims to advocate for systemic changes in fertility care, including better access to specialised mental health services, and trauma-informed approaches across all fertility settings. She believes strongly that comprehensive psychological care should be integrated into standard fertility treatment, rather than treated as an optional add-on.
Grace is also committed to reducing stigma and increasing awareness through her educational platform @thenotsofertilepsychologist, where she provides accessible resources on navigating the psychological challenges of fertility struggles.
As a HCPC-registered clinician with both academic credentials and lived experience, Grace brings a holistic perspective to her new trustee role - working to ensure that psychological wellbeing becomes a central consideration in fertility care, and that no one faces these challenges without appropriate emotional support.
Laura-Rose Thorogood
Laura-Rose Thorogood
Trustee
Laura-Rose is a neurodivergent LGBTQIA+, fertility and maternity activist, educator, writer, speaker and campaigner with more than fourteen years' experience driving change across reproductive health.
She is a married lesbian mother of four donor-conceived children through IUI and IVF and brings extensive lived experience of fertility treatment, including failed cycles, miscarriage, secondary infertility, birth trauma and operative birth. As both a biological and non-biological mother, she is passionate about improving fertility care and support for all those navigating their journey to parenthood.
Laura-Rose is CEO of Make Birth Better and Founder of LGBT Mummies, a global community supporting more than 80,000 LGBTQIA+ people and families. She has trained and lectured healthcare professionals across the NHS, the University of Cambridge and other leading institutions, and works closely with Government, healthcare bodies and policymakers to improve reproductive health services and reduce inequalities experienced by LGBTQIA+ people and other marginalised communities.
Holding advisory and leadership roles across organisations including NHSE, RCOG, UCL, HFEA and MMHA, Laura-Rose has helped shape policy, guidance and services to create greater equity and inclusion. Working alongside Fertility Action CEO Katie Rollings, she was part of the team that established the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fertility in 2025, helping to ensure that patient voices are represented at the heart of fertility policy and decision-making.
As a Trustee of Fertility Action, Laura-Rose is committed to championing equitable access to fertility treatment, raising awareness of the diverse pathways to parenthood and driving meaningful change for fertility patients across the UK.
Megan Veronesi
Megan Veronesi
Trustee
Megan is a freelance consultant with over 15 years’ experience in the charity, social enterprise and tech for good sectors. With experience at CEO and Board level, she brings expertise in strategy, income generation, partnership building, impact measurement and programme design.
She has a strong track record of helping organisations grow their income, extend their reach and deepen their social impact.
After a seven year fertility journey, Megan is passionate about removing the stigma around infertility and improving access to support and treatment. Through her consultancy, she has supported a number of fertility organisations including award-winning social enterprise Fertility Matters at Work.
Throughout her career, Megan has championed improved access to support for marginalised communities, delivering initiatives across areas including HIV, sexual health, and end of life care. She was awarded Employee of the Year by the National Centre for Diversity in 2021.
Megan brings extensive governance experience as a Trustee and Non-Executive Director and currently sits on the Board of Edinburgh World Heritage.
Megan is based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Nim Chandran
Nim Chandran
Trustee
Nim Chandran is a Director at KPMG UK, where he advises healthcare organisations on transformation, operational excellence, and service improvement. With more than a decade of experience working across healthcare and public services, he has led complex programmes focused on improving quality, performance, patient outcomes, and organisational effectiveness.
Nim brings a unique combination of strategic leadership, healthcare expertise, and lived experience to his role as a Trustee of Fertility Action. Having experienced the challenges of infertility and fertility treatment personally, he is passionate about improving awareness, support, and access to fertility care for individuals and families navigating their own journeys to parenthood.
As a Trustee, Nim is committed to helping Fertility Action amplify the voices of patients, advocate for equitable fertility services, and provide practical support to those affected by infertility. He is particularly interested in reducing inequalities in access to treatment and ensuring that fertility care remains a priority within the wider healthcare agenda.
Nim lives in the UK with his family and is a strong advocate for openness and understanding around fertility challenges, helping to break down stigma and encourage informed conversations about reproductive health.
- Meet the people
Our Advisory Board
Mr James Nicopoullos
Mr James Nicopoullos
Advisory Board
Mr James Nicopoullos is a sub-specialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery and a Consultant Gynaecologist at HCA Healthcare at The Lister Hospital.
After graduating from the University of London with a Medical Degree and completing his specialist obstetrics and gynecology training across centres of excellence in London, James was awarded a Doctor of Medicine for his research into reproductive medicine and surgery at the prestigious Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. He is a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and throughout his career has peer-reviewed several renowned journals.
James has a wide range of experience with IVF and subfertility and has always worked compassionately, treating patients that have suffered from recurrent loss, menstrual disorders or those approaching or going through menopause. James is a talented physician and an accredited laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgeon, offering clients everything they need for diagnosis and treatment.
Dr Anand Patel
Dr Anand Patel
Advisory Board
Dr. Patel graduated from King's College in 2000 and obtained membership of the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of GPs and is a fellow of the European Committee for Sexual Medicine.
He is a specialist in sexual health at the centre for men's health and works alongside Jonathan Ramsay in men's health and fertility whilst also running a GP practice in South London.
He is a committee member of the British Society for Sexual Medicine and secretary to the Primary Care Testosterone Advisory Group. He is chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners men’s health conference.
Julianne Boutaleb
Julianne Boutaleb
Advisory Board
Consultant Perinatal Psychologist, BSc, MSc, CPsychol, AFBPsS Julianne is the Clinical Director and Founder of the Parenthood In Mind practice and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. She is a passionate and highly experienced perinatal psychologist who has worked for over 23 years in the NHS and private practice with parents and parents-to-be and their babies (and bumps) who have needed support with a wide variety of perinatal mental health issues during and after pregnancy, miscarriage, stillbirth and reproductive loss, attachment issues, re-emergence of childhood issues and couples issues. From 2003 to 2009, she was part of an NHS multidisciplinary strategic health team that successfully established Sure Start services in East London. From 2009 to 2015, she held multiple clinical lead roles in Perinatal Mental Health in the NHS, and currently works as a consultant to specialist teams across the UK in Maternal Mental Health, Neonatal Care and Perinatal Trauma and Loss.
Julianne is a member of the Birth Trauma Association and specialises in working
therapeutically with birth and fertility trauma, PTSD and tokophobia (fear of giving birth) as they impact the mother, couple relationship and parent-infant attachment. In addition, she is also affiliated with BICA (British Infertility Counselling Association) and offers tailored psychological interventions for individuals and couples (including same sex couples) who are trying to conceive or pregnant and parenting following ART (IVF, ICSI, donor conception, surrogacy) or adoption.
She also writes and lectures on these issues, and contributes regularly to press articles in The Telegraph, Daily Mail and Guardian on parenting and parental mental health. She has appeared on BBC4 Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 5 and Channel 5 to offer expert opinion on mothering after bereavement, infertility and donor conception, and postnatal depression. She also works in partnership with organisations such as Fertility Matters at Work and Fertifa affecting changes in the workplace in areas of fertility, mental health, pregnancy, birth and parenting.
She has over 20 years’ experience teaching and training psychologists and health
professionals on issues of parental mental health, attachment, early years and positive mental health for babies and young children.
Instagram: @parenthoodinmind
- Meet the people
Our Leadership Team
Katie Rollings
Katie Rollings
Founder & CEO
Katie Rollings is an energetic, compelling speaker and a strong, values-led leader reshaping how fertility care in the UK is understood and delivered. She is the Founder and CEO of Fertility Action and a determined advocate for people navigating fertility challenges, known for her ability to translate lived-experience into purposeful connection and systemic change.
Her journey through seven years of infertility and treatment gave her a deep, personal understanding of the emotional and practical realities of fertility care, and exposed the inequalities that exist within the system, where postcode, income, identity and circumstance can shape both support and outcomes. That sense of injustice has been a driving force in her work ever since, alongside a belief that fertility care must be more compassionate, consistent and human. She continues to lead the Fertility Access Campaign in Parliament tackling the IVF postcode lottery, and passionately champions the need to raise awareness around male fertility and support too.
Katie is particularly focused on the quality of emotional support available to people throughout fertility treatment, alongside clear, evidence-based education and resources that genuinely empower individuals at every stage of their journey. She is driven by connection - creating spaces where people feel seen, heard and supported - and by a determination to ensure that kindness is not an afterthought in healthcare, but a core principle.
She has played a leading role in national policy conversations, including helping to establish the first All-Party Parliamentary Group for Fertility alongside her trustees, bringing fertility inequality into formal political focus. She continues to work with MPs and peers to influence policy, build cross-sector collaboration and deliver meaningful, practical change. Katie is also an experienced public speaker, having delivered talks in corporate settings, universities, colleges and in Parliament, including at Fertility 2026, where she addressed inequities in fertility treatment and care.
Before founding Fertility Action, Katie originally worked in pharmaceutical marketing, prior to investing 15+ years working to grow her family’s business - a large visitor attraction in Sussex, and later worked as a consultant in PR, marketing and business development strategy. This gave her a strong foundation in leadership, communication and strategic thinking, which she now brings into her advocacy and systems change work.
Outside of her professional life, Katie is an incredibly grateful mum, who loves singing, writing and enjoying a decent cup of (Yorkshire!) Tea. Connection, inclusion and kindness are central to who she is - qualities that shape both her personal life and her leadership.
Hannah Waller
Hannah Waller
Chief Champion
Hannah has spent her career in leadership and strategy roles in the education sector at organisations including Kumon, APM and Apple.
For the last fourteen years she worked at Oxford University Press in international educational publishing and qualifications sales, leading teams and strategic projects across the USA, Latin America, the Caribbean, EMEA and South East Asia.
Hannah is a leadership coach and mentor, supporting individuals, teams and organisations with their development and growth. Having personal experience of fertility issues has made her passionate about patient support, fertility education and equitable access to treatment.
"Having that group of girls that are truly amazing and understanding of the process without judgement, just pure kindness and respect as well as advice no matter how TMI the subject is. I know I can count on them no matter what. Feeling heard, when feeling hopeless - this group is the best I have been a part of and I have been a part of 6 support groups already!"
"This group has been a fantastic support for me. We are early on our journey but it has been so great to find a group of people who just understand. They relate, share stories, sympathise, take away the feeling of being alone and there isn't anything you can't say or share. I've learnt so much. We always have a giggle too, our pets join in and it's ok to turn up with your dinner! Pretty sure I've found some friends for life here too"
"The journey of infertility is a very lonely one. Having a support group like Fertility Action makes it that bit less lonely. It's a safe space, with no judgement, where you are listened to, your emotions are validated and ideas can be shared. I am so grateful to be part of this group and for all of the people that are a part of it"
- Professional Partnerships
Gold Sponsor
“We’re incredibly proud to become a Gold Sponsor of Fertility Action. At testhim, we believe that fertility is a shared journey, and access to information, support, and resources should be available to everyone, regardless of their circumstances. Fertility Action is doing vital work to remove the stigma, financial strain, and emotional isolation that so often come with fertility challenges.
Through this partnership, we hope to amplify their message, expand awareness of male fertility, and contribute to a more inclusive and supportive environment for individuals and couples across the UK. We look forward to working together to make real, lasting change.”
- IAN STONES, testhim
- Professional Partnerships
The Fertility Podcast
"My mission has always been simple: to empower, educate and support anyone dealing with fertility struggles - through honest conversations, expert insights, and sharing real stories. Partnering with Fertility Action feels like a natural next step. Their commitment to education and empowerment perfectly mirrors what we do at the podcast. Together, we’ll be creating even more valuable content, raising awareness, and helping even more people feel less alone on their fertility journeys"
- Natalie Silverman, Founder, The Fertility Podcast
- Our Founding Journey
The Story Behind Fertility Action
After seven long years of hope, heartbreak, and countless hurdles, Katie Rollings and her husband Tom finally welcomed their long-awaited miracle twins in 2017 through IVF.
Three years later, another beautiful surprise joined their family in 2020. Their path to parenthood was anything but easy - but it was also the seed that grew something bigger. Out of the heartbreak, the waiting, and the quiet moments of feeling alone, Katie found purpose.
She decided to launch Fertility Action, a charity born from lived experience - one that offers real support, trustworthy resources, and a an authentic, caring community for those navigating fertility journey or alternative path to parenthood. Driven by her own journey, Katie is on a mission to make fertility care more accessible, more compassionate, and more inclusive for everyone.
Curious how one family’s experience became a movement? Read more about Katie and the story behind Fertility Action on our blog.