about
National data tells us that parents are 10 x less likely to finish a Bachelor's Degree in 5 years than students who don't have kids, and more than 2/3 of students with children fail to earn a degree within 6 years of enrolling. We want to change that.
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A big contributing factor to the dropout rates is difficulty paying for childcare. Vaughn Childcare Fund aims to fill that gap and make childcare one less thing to worry about between classes, finals, practice, competing, and parenting.
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Our vision is that no student-athlete misses opportunities for eduction or sport because they can't cover the cost of childcare. We hope that no student-athlete fears losing scholarships due to pregnancy or parenting, and that they have all they need for success. Overall, we hope that every parenting student-athlete graduates.
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We will be directly providing funds for childcare to parenting students athletes, as well as information and eduction, and mentoring.
According to a survey by the NCAA, around 92% of universities lack any form of written policy to guide athletic department's responses to student-athlete pregnancies and parenting concerns. This is unacceptable. VCF hopes to partner with other organizations to help athletic departments develop and adopt pregnancy and parenting policies.
Meet our Board of Directors
Sara Slattery
Vice President
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Sara Slattery (Gorton) grew up in Phoenix, Arizona with parents Terry and Helen Gorton and sister Lindsey. Sara was a 10-time Arizona State Champion in XC and Track and Field and was the US Junior Champion in the 3K and the Junior Pan American Champion in 1999. She is a 4 time NCAA Champion at Colorado and was inducted into the CU Hall of Fame in 2016.
As a professional she was the 2007 Pan. American Games Champion, a US Champion and apart a World Championship team member.
From 2015 to 2022 Sara was the head Men’s and Women’s XC coach at Grand Canyon University and is one of the few women in the NCAA coaching both men’s and women’s teams.
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Sara is also a published author, and an advocate for equality in women's sports.
She and her husband Steve Slattery, former professional runner, live in Paradise Valley, Arizona with their two children Steven and Cali.
Liza Pasciuto
Secretary
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Liza Pasciuto is a brand strategy leader who has worked with hyper growth start-ups by building a foundation for their businesses around operational excellence. She led operations for SoulCycle, scaling the boutique fitness company into a nationally recognized brand, launching over 20 studios in multiple markets. Liza then joined Compass as an Executive of the West Coast, elevating the real estate industry through technology and a curated agent experience. She launched the AARMY digital fitness concept during the pandemic, partnered with celebrity stylist Karla Welch to scale operations, brought The Period Company brand to national brick and mortar retailers, and has been the executive producer on countless projects from corporations such as Masterclass and Nike, to social issues with Harness, Poderistas, and I am a voter.
Most recently she launched her own consulting agency, working with brands and celebrity talent on strategy, bringing concepts to market, operational effectiveness, partnerships, social impact & more.
A former Division I All-American and USATF athlete, Liza bridges her career experience with her innate athletic awareness, bringing passion and drive to every aspect of the business, collaboratively leading cross-functional teams, and fulfilling her purpose in life of making a positive social impact.
Ashley Vidulich
Treasurer
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Ashley Vidulich was the first recipient of the Vaughn Family Childcare Scholarship at CU Boulder in 2017. From 2012-2019, Ashley was an undergraduate at the University of Colorado. Midway through her undergrad degree, Ashley had boy-girl twins and found childcare to be a struggle. The Vaughns’ story was very similar to her own because both families juggled being full-time parents as well as full-time students. Their scholarship helped afford the opportunity for her twins to attend full-time Kindergarten Enrichment, so she could focus on attending classes and studying academics. Ashley’s goal, as well as Sara’s, is to help students with children by providing them with a mentor and the opportunity to have childcare while they are pursuing an undergraduate degree.
Currently, Ashley is a high school science teacher at Broomfield High School. She has her B.A. (Bachelors of Arts) in Integrated Physiology and Psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and she completed her M.A. (Masters of Arts) in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Colorado at Denver.
Prior to graduating from college, Ashley was a soldier in the United States Army and Colorado National Guard for 10 years. She was part of the military intelligence branch in the United States Army and was a Signals Intelligence Collector and Analyst who initially focused on Morse Code intercept before transitioning to counterterrorism targeting. After leaving the Active Duty Army in 2007, Ashley joined the Active Duty Colorado National Guard and spent the next five years as a recruiter and logistics chief.
Aside from teaching and soldiering, Ashley also completed her personal training certification in 2012 and interned in the sports medicine field at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Ashley has lived in Louisville since 2009 with her husband, twins, and step-son.
Sara Vaughn
Founder
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Sara Vaughn wears many hats, each fueled by a passion to make life better for someone, be it a stranger, a client, her children, or occasionally,
herself. She's spent almost a decade in real estate in Colorado, honing marketing and sales skills, whilst enjoying helping home-buyers and -sellers achieve their real estate goals.
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Remarkably, Sara has been running "professionally" since 2008, making US Championship finals 10 times over 3 distances - 800m, 1500m, and 3000m steeplechase. She also had the honor to represent the US on 3 occasions, most notably in the 1500m at the World Championships in London in 2017. Her next adventure will have her lining up at the Olympics Trials for the Marathon in February 2024.
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From a very personal place, Sara has launched the dream of helping parenting undergraduate student-athletes get to graduation. She knows better than anyone that a mom on a mission can achieve great things, and even greater things with a little bit of support.
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It is her personal mission, through this non-profit, to bring resources straight to those who need it. She hopes to provide financial support, but also mentorship to any parenting student-athlete, as well as be a resource for coaches and administration to help navigate pregnancy and postpartum athletic and academic participation.