Our Board of Directors

Learn more about our dedicated BMFN Board of Directors who ensure we are fulfilling our mission and upholding our values.

Julie Eshelman

Barb Collura

Meet the Board of Directors

  • Julie Eshelman is an Army Reserve Spouse of 9 years with 8 of those years experiencing her own heartbreaking infertility journey. She has spent the last 14 years working in the nonprofit sector for organizations like the YMCA, Military Spouse Advocacy Network, and Exceptional Families of the Military before deciding to found Building Military Families Network.

    Julie has participated in RESOLVE’s Federal Advocacy Day since 2020 when the event pivoted to virtual participation for the first time because of the pandemic. She previously served as the Subcommittee Lead for the Military & Veterans Taskforce, helping to recruit, train, and support not only military-connected advocates but also educate all advocates on military service and family building issues to help empower them to advocate for our military and veteran families on Advocacy Day. In 2024, it will be Julie’s fifth time participating in Advocacy Day and her first year serving as Co-Chair for Advocacy Day.

    Julie Eshelman is the Founder, CEO, and President of Building Military Families Network where she took her struggles and lack of support and access to information in family building and created an organization to fill that gap for military and veteran families. Her own family’s experiences with infertility and the frustrations resulting from a lack of insurance coverage and a support network led her to advocate and launch a nonprofit for the change she desperately wants to see for the next generation of military and veteran families. Julie was named the 2022 Armed Forces Insurance Fort Leavenworth Spouse of the Year for her awareness, advocacy, and leadership in infertility and military family building.

    Raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Julie has lived all across the country thanks to her husband’s Army career including Virginia, Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Kansas. They are currently stationed in her home state of Pennsylvania and enjoying this time living close to family. Julie and her family know that they will likely be on the move again in the summer of 2024, but they have no idea where that might be. Home is always where the Army sends them.

  • Barb has more than 25 years as a patient advocate in the fertility and family building field. After her own battle with infertility, Barb started volunteering for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association in the Washington, DC area, and then Barb joined RESOLVE’s staff in 2004. From 2007-2025, Barb served as RESOLVE’s President/CEO.

    Today, Barb is the Principal and Founder of Vital Voices Consulting LLC, a firm dedicated to providing strategic consulting and infertility advocacy for organizations, companies, and innovators who share her vision of family building for all. Barb is a member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).

    Barb is a nationally recognized expert on infertility and the family building journey, with a special emphasis on advocacy, public policy, and access to care. She is routinely quoted in major media outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and Politico on a variety of topics related to infertility. In 2014, Barbara received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Barbara was named by PR Week to the Health Influencer 30: Class of 2024. Barb has co-authored more than 20 publications related to infertility.

  • William R. Fontanez is an accomplished operations professional, Army veteran, and dedicated military spouse with over 15 years of leadership and management experience. He brings a wealth of expertise in operations management, program analysis, logistics, strategic planning, and process improvement to his role as Treasurer. William holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Health Sciences from Cleveland State University and certifications in Full-Stack Development, Security+, and ScrumMaster, showcasing his diverse skill set and commitment to excellence.

    Currently serving as a Project Lead and App Developer for Delaware Nation Industries (DNI), William supports the United States Special Operations Command, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to enhance operational intelligence. His professional journey also includes roles in academia, where he managed software development programs, and the private sector, where he specialized in integration management for enterprise systems. Additionally, William co-founded Fontanez Strategies, a consulting firm focused on process improvement and operational efficiency across multiple industries, including nonprofit, military, and IT.

    As a military spouse, William deeply understands the unique challenges faced by military families. He and his husband, Joshua, personally experienced the adoption process for their son and are now embarking on the journey once again to grow their family. This personal connection to family building drives William’s dedication to the nonprofit’s mission of supporting military and veteran families through their own family building challenges.

    William’s combination of professional expertise and personal experience makes him uniquely qualified to manage the financial operations of the organization while advocating for military families navigating the complexities of family-building.

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Julie Cooley

  • Julie is a 20-year Air Force Spouse and 6-year Air Force mother to two awesome Airmen! As a licensed entrepreneur and business owner, Julie has focused most of her time in the Military community advocating for and advising on veteran, military spouse, and reserve component member employment issues. Since her son joined the Air Force in 2017 Julie has refocused much of her work on bettering morale, removing barriers, and bringing local and national organizations inside the gates to truly tackle tough issues including suicide, food insecurity, and family crisis resources.

    Julie works as the Director of Operations at Pathways for Success Foundation focusing on removing barriers to education for Alabamians such as tuition/funding, adequate childcare, and transportation. Through this initiative, she is working with state political, business, and educational leadership to expand programming for all families, especially military families throughout the state.

    Today, Julie is serving our military families through local, state, and national advocacy serving locally as a Chamber Ambassador, Co-leading the Military Committee for the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce, and Chairing the Local efforts to recognize military children around Alabama through developing Purple Up Prattville in coordination with the City, Chamber, school system and military support resources around Maxwell AFB. Nationally Julie serves on the boards with Mission: Milspouse and Building Military Families Network to bring a voice to important issues affecting our military families around the globe.

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Jennifer White

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William Fontanez

  • Jennifer White is an Air Force spouse of 24 years (retired 2023). After experiencing 7 years of infertility struggle during her husband’s time in service, she has remained committed to helping families not feel so alone as they navigate the military healthcare system and to work to make things better for those who come behind her.

    In addition to serving on the Building Military Families Network Board of Directors, Jennifer is a founder and current Chair of the Board of the Reproductive Alliance, a founder and former Treasurer of Colorado Fertility Advocates, and a past board member and Secretary of SEEDS (The Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy). In addition, she is a member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, Resolve New England, and the New England Fertility Society.

    She has participated in national and state legislative advocacy with RESOLVE and Colorado Fertility Advocates (CFA). She spearheaded CFA’s first in-person Advocacy Day, which ultimately led to the successful passing of insurance reform related to Fertility in Colorado. She has participated in many RESOLVE national advocacy days and most recently was Chair of the State Captain Committee.

    Jennifer is the director of a surrogacy matching program and finds daily joy in helping families grow in amazing ways. She has spoken on surrogacy at conferences and events throughout the United States including the American Fertility Expo, DoulaCon, and the Illinois State Bar CLE program. She is the Co-host of the podcast, I Want to Put a Baby in You.

    Jennifer lives in Connecticut with her husband, child, and their two very spoiled dogs.

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Lisa Rosenthal

  • Lisa Rosenthal has over thirty-five years of patient advocacy experience in the fertility field. After her personal infertility journey of six and half years, she wanted to give back to the community and help improve the accessibility of affordable, comprehensive services. She was determined to help others undergoing fertility treatment and has done so through working for Patient Advocacy groups.

    In addition to serving on the Building Military Families Network Board of Directors, Lisa serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors at Resolve New England and is a member of the Affordable Families Coalition, and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). Lisa is also a Member at Large of the New England Fertility Society.

    She has participated in numerous, national and state legislative advocacy efforts with RESOLVE, Resolve New England and PCOS Challenge, dedicated to ensuring that all people who need reproductive health care have access. Lisa has just finished serving as Co-Chair of National Advocacy Day for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association.

    Lisa has had her dream job at Illume Fertility (formerly RMA of Connecticut) for fifteen years, where she serves as Patient Advocate and Senior Content Strategist.

    Lisa is also the teacher and founder of Fertile Yoga, a research-based program (lead author on research accepted by ASRM), designed to support all people on their quest for their families through gentle movement and meditation, Ladies Night In and other peer support groups. Lisa has authored over 1,400 blogs on the topic of reproductive health. She also was the lead author of a research paper on the effects of COVID-19 on fertility patients, accepted by ASRM in 2021.