Department VIP – Amy Plaster, LCSW, Donor Services Coordinator
Amy Plaster, LCSW, joined Ovation® Fertility to use her degree in social work to support hopeful parents with family building. Seeing pictures of the beautiful babies born using donor services makes all her hard work as a donor services coordinator worth it.
How did you get into your line of work?
After I got my master’s degree in social work, I began helping families who were facing homelessness and mental health challenges. I enjoyed using my education and training to work with people to improve their lives. However, I eventually decided that I wanted to use my background to help people in a different way.
I came across an open position at Ovation, and I thought it would be a great chance to apply my social work degree in a rewarding and non-traditional way. I’ve always believed that everyone deserves the opportunity to have a child, and Ovation shares this belief, so it was a perfect fit.
What has your career path been like at Ovation?
When I started with Ovation, I was in a position where I did administrative work. I helped with event planning for company events and industry conferences like ASRM as well as assisted with accounting.
From there, I was promoted to operations manager, and in that role, I did a lot of work with vendors and lab directors to streamline our products.
Finally, I joined Ovation Donor Services, where I’m now the donor services coordinator. When I got started with ODS, it was in its infancy, so I got to help kick things off. It’s been such an honor to be a part of this area of Ovation and to have helped it grow into what it is today.
What is an average day of work like for you?
In my role, I work with intended parents who are interested in donor eggs. Intended parents seek out donor services for so many reasons, so every day is a little bit different. However, I generally spend my time reviewing our new referrals and reaching out to them.
Once I connect with the intended parents, I explain our donor program and answer all their questions about conceiving using donor eggs. My goal is to be a warm and helpful resource for intended parents. They have typically been through so much by the time they’re considering donor eggs, so I support them in any way they need.
It can be a lot of work, but it’s all worth it when I get to see baby pictures from the intended parents who were able to have a child using egg donation. It’s the best!
What’s your favorite part of working for Ovation?
I’ve enjoyed all my roles at Ovation, but I especially love my current position. Intended parents often feel so discouraged before they visit donor services. They may have tried IVF using their own eggs without success and now be wondering what’s next. My team and I get to give them a new ray of hope on their family-building journey.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Work tends to keep me busy, but I enjoy winding down by meeting friends for happy hour and going on long walks and hikes. I also love doing yoga, traveling and spending time with my friends and family.