Sara Slaughter

Executive Director W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation

Sara Slaughter has over 14 years of experience in philanthropy. In 2015, she was named Executive Director of the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation. The Stone Foundation, based in Chicago, provides funding for K-12 education, early childhood education and youth development in five major urban areas.

Prior to joining the Stone Foundation, she served for ten years as the Director of the Education Program at the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, focused on building a system of quality early care and education for Illinois children from birth to third grade.   During her tenure at the McCormick Foundation, the Council on Foundations awarded the Education Program the 2008 Paul Ylvisaker Award for Public Policy Engagement.

In addition to her philanthropic experience, Ms. Slaughter’s career spans the fields of law and government. She clerked for a federal district judge following her graduation from law school and then served as a litigation associate at Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago. From 2004 until 2007, Ms. Slaughter also served as a policy advisor to former Indiana Governor, Evan Bayh.

Ms. Slaughter is a member of the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, and served as its chair for almost four years, guiding the organization through a two year strategic planning process that resulted in hiring its first Executive Director. She is a member of the executive committee of the Illinois Early Learning Council and the steering committee of the Education Funders Strategy Group. In 2015, she chaired the Grantmakers for Education pre-conference on the education continuum in San Francisco and in 2008, she co-chaired the Grantmakers for Children Youth and Families Annual Conference in Chicago. 

Ms. Slaughter holds a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a Juris Doctorate from Indiana University Maurer School of Law — Bloomington. She resides in Chicago. Her two sons are graduates of Chicago Public Schools.

Press Clippings:

Rhian Evans Allvin and Sara Slaughter, Pandemic recession: Invest in child care to help women return to the workforce, USA Today, March 2021.

Sara Slaughter and Sylvia Puente, Letters: Illinois has a great opportunity to increase pay, number of teachers in early childhood education, Chicago Tribune, May 2021.