Situated at 761 Main Avenue in Norwalk, Connecticut, Illume Fertility anchors one of the most competitive fertility care corridors on the East Coast — a stretch of Fairfield County that extends southwest through Stamford and directly into Westchester County, New York. Patients commuting from Greenwich, White Plains, or the New York City suburbs routinely choose Illume's Norwalk headquarters as their primary care site, drawn by its proximity to I-95 and the Merritt Parkway. Founded in 2002 by Dr. Mark P. Leondires as a single-location practice, Illume has grown into a five-location network spanning Connecticut and New York, while retaining Norwalk as its flagship campus. The practice was formerly affiliated with Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut (RMA of CT) before rebranding as Illume Fertility and, in 2022, becoming the first U.S. practice to join The Fertility Partners network. On Google, Illume Fertility's Norwalk location holds a 4.4-star rating across more than 201 patient reviews, placing it among the most-reviewed fertility practices in the region. For an overview of how Illume compares with other options in the state, see our guide to fertility clinics in Connecticut.
Physicians and Clinical Team
Illume Fertility employs nine reproductive endocrinologists, all of whom are double board-certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI). Six of these physicians have received Castle Connolly Top Doctor recognition — an honor extended to fewer than seven percent of practicing physicians nationally.
Dr. Mark P. Leondires, MD — Founder and Medical Director. Dr. Leondires earned his MD at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, completed an OB/GYN residency at Maine Medical Center, and trained in REI at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. Following his NIH fellowship he served on active duty in the U.S. Army as Director of Assisted Reproductive Technologies at the Combined Federal Program for Reproductive Endocrinology. He co-authored Building Your Family: The Complete Guide to Donor Conception and sits on RESOLVE's Physician Council and ASRM's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force. He also founded Gay Parents To Be, a dedicated resource for LGBTQ+ family building.
Dr. Spencer S. Richlin, MD — Surgical Director. Dr. Richlin received his BS from the University of California, Berkeley, his MD from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, and completed his REI fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine. He trained in OB/GYN at Stamford Hospital / Columbia University and continues to precept OB/GYN residents from Stamford Hospital and medical students from Quinnipiac University. He is an invited writing member for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology's PROLOG Seventh Edition for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, and has been recognized as a US News Top Doctor and a Castle Connolly NY Metro and Fairfield County Top Doctor.
Dr. Joshua M. Hurwitz, MD — Partner and Reproductive Endocrinologist. Dr. Hurwitz earned his BS from Cornell University, his MD from Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, and completed a three-year REI fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He joined Illume in 2006 and serves as Division Director of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Services at Danbury Hospital and as Director of Fertility Preservation for the Nuvance Northwell Health Network. His research centers on reproductive aging, diminished ovarian reserve, and fertility preservation, and he has been a Castle Connolly Top Doctor since 2013.
Dr. Cynthia M. Murdock, MD — Reproductive Endocrinologist. Dr. Murdock completed her REI fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in 2003, giving the practice two physicians with NIH fellowship backgrounds. She has received Castle Connolly Top Doctor honors and focuses on recurrent pregnancy loss and complex ovarian stimulation protocols.
Dr. Shaun C. Williams, MD — Reproductive Endocrinologist. Dr. Williams is double board-certified in OB/GYN and REI and has been recognized by Castle Connolly among Fairfield County's top specialists.
Dr. Ilana B. Ressler, MD — Reproductive Endocrinologist. Dr. Ressler holds double board certification and has received Castle Connolly recognition. She has a special focus on unexplained infertility and fertility care for women with autoimmune conditions.
Dr. Laura Meyer, MD, Dr. Alexander M. Kucherov, MD, and Dr. Barry Witt, MD round out the nine-physician team. Dr. Witt completed his REI fellowship at Tulane University School of Medicine and Dr. Kucherov is double board-certified in OB/GYN and REI.
The extended clinical team includes physician associate Diana D'Amelio, RPA-C; certified nurse midwife Christina Polesky, CNM; nurse practitioners Thelma Osei, NP, Kirsten Hennigan, NP, and Sarah Waters, WHNP-BC; and certified genetic counselors Jamie Speer, MS, and Anthony Porto, MS. An Integrated Fertility and Wellness (IFW) team of four licensed acupuncturists (all holding doctoral degrees in Chinese medicine) and two registered dietitian nutritionists completes the multidisciplinary staff.
Services and Treatments
Illume Fertility's Norwalk location offers a comprehensive menu of treatments:
- In vitro fertilization (IVF), including conventional stimulation and minimal-stimulation protocols
- Intrauterine insemination (IUI) and ovulation induction with timed intercourse
- Egg freezing (elective and oncofertility oocyte cryopreservation)
- Embryo cryopreservation and frozen embryo transfer (FET)
- Preimplantation genetic testing — for aneuploidies (PGT-A), monogenic disorders (PGT-M), and structural rearrangements (PGT-SR)
- Gestational surrogacy coordination
- Donor egg IVF and donor sperm services
- Donor embryo (embryo adoption) cycles
- Fertility preservation for cancer patients (oncofertility)
- Reproductive surgery (hysteroscopy, laparoscopy, myomectomy) performed in the on-site surgical suite under Dr. Richlin's direction
- Comprehensive fertility testing: AMH, FSH, antral follicle count, semen analysis, and advanced male factor evaluation
- Genetic counseling and carrier screening
- LGBTQ+ family building, including reciprocal IVF and co-IVF for same-sex couples
- Acupuncture, nutritional counseling, and mind-body support through the IFW program
- Medication savings and assistance programs
If you are comparing procedure options, our IVF guide explains stimulation protocols, retrieval, and embryo transfer in detail.
Laboratory and Success Rates
The Norwalk campus houses what Illume describes as award-winning andrology and embryology laboratories alongside an accredited on-site surgical suite and secure on-site cryopreservation storage. The co-location of the surgical suite and the laboratory on a single floor minimizes the time between egg retrieval and insemination, a logistic advantage that many reproductive endocrinologists cite as critical to embryo quality.
In 2023, Dr. Leondires publicly cited a 76% success rate for the practice, though patients should interpret any headline figure with care since outcomes depend heavily on patient age, diagnosis, and cycle type. The authoritative source for clinic-specific, age-stratified success data is the federal ART reporting system administered by the CDC: CDC ART Surveillance. Illume Fertility also reports annually to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), and its data appear in the SART clinic outcome reporting system. Patients are strongly encouraged to review those databases alongside any figures cited by a clinic directly, filtering for their own age bracket and diagnosis.
Patient Experience
Illume's 4.4-star Google rating across more than 201 reviews reflects several recurring themes in patient feedback. Reviewers most frequently cite the communication style of the nursing and patient care coordination staff — specifically the availability of financial coordinators who walk patients through benefit verification and insurance authorization before treatment begins. The breadth of the care team (with nine physicians available across multiple days and locations) means patients rarely experience extended delays for monitoring appointments, a common pain point at single-physician practices.
The Integrated Fertility and Wellness program draws specific mention from patients who underwent acupuncture alongside IVF cycles, with many crediting the holistic approach for reducing anxiety during the two-week wait. The clinic also runs support groups and maintains a blog with several hundred educational posts, which several reviewers identified as a resource they used during the decision-making process before becoming patients. LGBTQ+ patients — particularly gay men using gestational surrogacy and lesbian couples pursuing reciprocal IVF — note that Gay Parents To Be, the companion organization founded by Dr. Leondires, provides a level of cultural competence that distinguishes Illume from practices that treat LGBTQ+ family building as a secondary focus.
Areas where reviews occasionally flag room for improvement include wait times during high-volume morning monitoring hours and the adjustment period when a patient's assigned physician is unavailable and coverage is provided by another team member. Both issues are common at larger multi-physician practices and are generally considered trade-offs for the scheduling flexibility a larger team provides.
Considering At-Home Insemination?
Not every fertility journey begins in a clinic. At-home intracervical insemination (ICI) is a lower-cost, private option that suits patients with no known fertility diagnosis — including single parents by choice, same-sex couples, and people who want to try a few cycles before committing to clinical treatment.
At-home insemination kits like those from MakeAMom come with step-by-step instructions designed for donor or partner sperm. Kits are a one-time purchase that can be reused until conception succeeds, require no clinic visit, and arrive in plain, discreet packaging. Many patients use them as a first step while working toward a fertility consultation — or alongside ovulation tracking while they wait for an appointment slot.
If you have a known fertility diagnosis, have been trying for 12 months without success (six months if you're over 35), or your physician has already recommended IUI or IVF, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist is the right next step.
Insurance and Financing
Connecticut is one of a minority of states with a comprehensive infertility insurance mandate. Fully insured health plans issued in Connecticut are generally required to cover medically necessary infertility treatment, including IVF. The mandate provides for up to four ovulation induction cycles, three IUI cycles, and two IVF cycles (with up to two embryo transfers per IVF cycle). Plans may not impose blanket age cut-offs; age may only be considered as part of a medical-necessity review. Self-funded employer plans (many large national employers) and government programs such as Medicaid are not bound by the state mandate.
Illume pairs each new patient with a dedicated Financial Coordinator who reviews benefits under the Connecticut mandate, confirms in-network status, assists with referrals and prior authorizations, and provides a personalized cost estimate before treatment begins. For patients without qualifying coverage, Illume maintains relationships with third-party fertility financing lenders and participates in medication savings programs. Connecticut-based nonprofit organizations also offer IVF grants — typically $5,000 to $20,000 paid directly to the clinic — for eligible state residents who lack insurance coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Illume Fertility accept my insurance? Illume works with most major commercial insurers that offer Connecticut-mandated fertility benefits, including Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare, Anthem/BlueCross BlueShield, and others. Because in-network status varies by specific plan and employer, the practice's financial coordinators verify benefits individually before a patient's first appointment. Patients with self-funded employer plans or out-of-state coverage should inquire directly, as coverage rules differ.
How do I get started at Illume Fertility Norwalk? New patients typically begin with a new patient consultation, during which a reproductive endocrinologist reviews medical history, orders baseline blood work (AMH, FSH, estradiol) and a transvaginal ultrasound for antral follicle count, and requests a semen analysis if applicable. Most of this initial testing can be completed at the Norwalk location. The practice can often schedule a new patient appointment within one to two weeks.
What makes Illume different for LGBTQ+ patients? Dr. Leondires founded Gay Parents To Be alongside Illume Fertility specifically to serve LGBTQ+ individuals and couples. The practice has coordinated hundreds of gestational surrogacy journeys for gay men and offers reciprocal IVF (where one partner provides the eggs and the other carries the pregnancy) for lesbian couples. Staff training and patient materials are designed with LGBTQ+ family structures in mind, and a dedicated third-party reproduction nurse practitioner — Kirsten Hennigan, NP — coordinates surrogacy and donor cycles.
Does Illume offer fertility preservation for cancer patients? Yes. Illume operates an oncofertility program for patients who need to preserve fertility before chemotherapy, radiation, or other gonadotoxic treatments. Given the time-sensitive nature of cancer treatment, the practice prioritizes rapid consultation and expedited cycle starts for oncology referrals. Dr. Hurwitz serves as Director of Fertility Preservation for the Nuvance Northwell Health Network, providing a direct channel between oncology teams and the Illume fertility preservation program.