Our Team

Clinical Staff: Nurses and Nurse Practitioners

Franci Sheehan, Nurse Practitioner and Lead Clinician
Franci Sheehan, RNC, MS, is involved in various aspects of diagnosis and treatment at New England Fertility. A long-time nurse practitioner in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, she also serves on the faculty of Yale University and is a member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. Franci holds a master's degree in maternal and child health from Boston College and Harvard Medical School and is certified in both women's health and reproductive endocrinology.

Grace Stocco, Nurse Practitioner and Clinician
Graziella (Grace) Stocco, RN, BN, MSN, FNP-C, brings more than 22 years of nursing experience in obstetrics and gynecology to New England Fertility. She works closely with patients, helping them understand each step of the fertility treatment process. An expert in infertility treatment, Grace received her bachelor's of nursing degree in Australia and her master's degree in nursing at Northwestern State University of Louisiana.

Jennifer West, Nurse Practitioner
Jennifer West is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) in the state of Connecticut, certified in Family Medicine. She received a BS degree in nursing from the University of Connecticut and received her MS degree in nursing from Fairfield University in Connecticut, where she also completed the Family Nurse Practitioner Program. In addition to her work at New England Fertility, Jennifer is a member of the adjunct faculty of Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, Connecticut, where she is a clinical instructor supervising nursing students in their Obstetrics clinical rotations. Prior to joining New England Fertility, Jennifer was a nurse practitioner in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Stamford Hospital, in Stamford, Connecticut, and worked in many private practices. In her capacity as a clinician at New England Fertility, Jennifer is involved in the clinical care of patients, performing endometrial biopsies, obstetric and gynecologic ultrasounds, and many other gynecological office procedures.

Susan Kornitsky, Nurse
A nurse at the Hamden office, Susan graduated from Curry College in Massachusetts with a BS degree in nursing. Susan has been involved in women's health care for the past 20 years, 15 of which have been with New England Fertility.

Laboratory Staff

Ellen She, Laboratory Director
Ellen She, MD, PhD, is the director of New England Fertility's laboratory, where she performs state-of-the-art IVF techniques, including conventional insemination (IUI), Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), Assisted Zona Hatching (AZH), embryo biopsy (blastomere and blastocyst) for Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), and cryopreservation (slow freezing and vitrification). Before joining NEF in 2007, Ellen worked as a biologist in the Genetics Department at the Scripps Research Institute and at the University of California, San Diego, where she furthered her knowledge in basic cell biology and molecule biology and obtained extensive hands-on embryology experience. She is a member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the American Association of Bioanalysts (AAB), and the College of American Pathologists (CAP). She received her medical degree in 1982 from Fujian Medical University in China and graduated from Hamamatsu University School of Medicine with a PhD in Reproductive Physiology in 1998. Ellen's strong scientific background has been instrumental in New England Fertility's developing new technology to help treat infertility and in creating a center of excellence in embryology and IVF at NEF.

Angelita M Dimacali, MT, MSc., (Senior Embryologist)
Angelita (Angie) Dimacali has been with New England fertility Institute helping patients, since 2003.  She earned her MS degree in Clinical Embryology from the University of Leeds, in England and  is fluent in
3 languages.  Before coming to NEFI, Angie was emnployed at Dr. JS Murad's – The Emirate-German Fertility Clinic in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.  She is involved with various aspect of in-vitro fertilization (IVF), including ICSI, PGD and egg and embryo cryopreservation (or freezing).

Administrative Staff

Samantha Lavy, Director of Operations
Samantha Lavy is responsible for the overall management of New England Fertility. She joined NEF in 1999 and since then has served in many roles, ranging from financial administrator to donor egg coordinator to director of marketing and outreach to director of operations. A member of the American Society of Reproductive Managers and the National Association of Professional Women, Samantha has a BA degree in Journalism with a concentration in Corporate Communication from Southern Connecticut State University and is passionate about helping couples struggling with infertility and/or wishing to start or expand their families. One of her current focuses is New England Fertility's We Care campaign, a patient-centered program that seeks to alleviate some of the emotional stress associated with fertility therapy.

Shantai Rivera-Bonilla, Third-Party Reproduction (Egg Donation and Surrogacy) Program Coordinator
Shantai Rivera-Bonilla joined New England Fertility in 1999 and presently serves as the Third-Party Reproduction Coordinator of the Egg Donor and Gestational Surrogacy Program. Shantai earned her associate's degree as well as a certificate in human services from Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She is passionate about providing couples in need of third-party reproduction services with a positive experience.

Adam Sokol Director of Business Development
Adam graduated from Southern Connecticut State University and is currently continuing his MBA studies at Sacred Heart University-Jack Welch School of Business. Throughout Adam's career he has held various positions within healthcare administration and business development. Adam started his career with Maxim Healthcare Services, where he led his team through two successful compliance audits by the Joint Commission. After Maxim Healthcare, Adam spent time with Bayer Pharmaceuticals, where he successfully launched three new innovative products for Bayer's Women's Healthcare Division. Adam has always had a passion for helping others and his new role with New England Fertility will allow for Adam to play an integral role within the community we serve.

Third Party Reproduction

Melissa Kelleher LCSW
Melissa earned her Master's Degree from NYU School of Social Work and has 15 years experience providing counseling and social work services to patients and their families. She understands the stress and range of emotions that patients with infertility are struggling with and provides a supportive approach to help them navigate through the process of infertility treatments. She specifically works with the Third Party Reproduction team where her expertise is utilized to provide emotional support and guidance to patients as they make decisions regarding their treatment options

Beatrice Abshire, Egg Donor Coordinator
Beatrice re-joins NEF as the Egg Donor Coordinator. She has 20 years of experience working in the fields of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine. She has worked for the Labor and Delivery Department at Norwalk Hospital, Reproductive Biology Associates in Atlanta and Women's Health Care of New England, serving different roles in the medical and financial fields. Beatrice is fluent in Spanish. She earned an Associates Degree in Science as well as a certification as a medical assistant at Norwalk Community College. She has extensive knowledge and understanding of the medical, psychological, and financial developments in Reproductive Medicine. She is eager to assist the intended parents to start or expand their family.

Shantai Rivera-Bonilla, Egg Donor and Surrogacy Coordinator
Shantai has worked in Reproductive Medicine for 13 years. She works as an Egg Donor and Gestational Carrier Coordinator for Domestic and International Families. Shantai is dedicated to establishing clear channels of communication with patients and helping them through the process. Shantai's is a caring and compassionate person and has great rapport with the patients. She is able to relate to all of our patients especially our same sex patients; she understands how to support each patient throughout the entire process with care. Shantai earned her Associates Degree and Certificate in Human Services from Housatonic Community College.