Staff Bios
Sara R. Slaughter
Program Director
sslaughter@McCormickFoundation.org
312.445.5062
Sara Slaughter is Director of the Education Program at the McCormick Foundation.
In that capacity, she oversees $6.5 to $7.5 million of annual funding in the Education Program,
which focuses on building a system of quality early care and education in the state of Illinois.
Prior to joining the McCormick Foundation, she was the Program Director at Chicago Metropolis
2020 where she helped bring the voices of business and civic champions to bear on early care and education
policy in Illinois. Ms. Slaughter previously served as an advisor to Evan Bayh when he was Governor of Indiana.
She is a lawyer who practiced law at Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago and also served as a judicial clerk to a federal judge.
Ms. Slaughter is a member of the Early Learning Council of Illinois, the Illinois Department of
Human Services’ Child Care and Development Advisory Committee, and the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative.
She serves on the board of Grantmakers for Children, Youth and Families (GCYF) and in 2008, she served
as the co-chair of the GCYF Annual Conference. She also serves on the Indiana University School of Law Alumni Board.
She co-authored the Economic Impact of the Early Care and Education Industry in Illinois.
Ms. Slaughter holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Duke University and a J.D.
from Indiana University School of Law -- Bloomington. She resides in Chicago with her husband and two children.
Lindsay Alvis
Program Officer
lalvis@McCormickFoundation.org
312.445.5020
Lindsay Alvis is the Education Program Officer at the McCormick Foundation.
Lindsay assists with the implementation and monitoring of projects, helps to evaluate
new education grant proposals and works to broaden her knowledge of the early care and
education field and stay connected to the current issues in the field.
Lindsay came to the Foundation in February of 2005. She is a member of the Illinois
Early Learning Council’s Public Awareness Committee as well as the Donors Forum’s
Peer Network for New Grantmakers and the Young Nonprofits Professional Network. She also serves as a board member for Changing Worlds.
Throughout her youth, she was an active volunteer in her community. She continues today
to find ways to stay active in the nonprofit field and volunteer for causes close to her
heart.
Lindsay graduated from the University of Kansas in 2004, where she received a BA in
Early Childhood Development. Her passion for young children and families continues to
grow with the work that she does every day.
Erica Okezie-Phillips
Program Officer
eokezie-phillips@mccormickfoundation.org
312.445.5046
Erica Okezie-Phillips has been a Program Officer in the McCormick Foundation since 2007.
She brings with her an extensive international background having worked with immigrant children and families in Canada,
England, Taiwan and the Caribbean.
Since moving to the United States, Ms.Okezie-Phillips professional interests have focused on the cultural
implications of development for young children from multi-ethnic backgrounds.
She has trained early childhood professionals as well as developed and directed many early childhood programs
serving low-income and minority communities in Chicago. Prior to coming to the Foundation,
Ms Okezie was a Program Director and Interim Head of School at LEARN Charter School where she oversaw
the development of the school’s academic program and strategic plan.
She is currently a member of the Illinois Early Learning Council’s joint subcommittee on
Cultural and Linguistic Diversity and Workforce Development.
She is an active member of the Canadian Council for Multicultural and Intercultural Education
and its affiliate the Ontario Multicultural Association, Multiculturelle de L’Ontario (OMAMO).
Ms. Okezie-Phillips currently sits on the Policy Advisory Committee for Teacher Preparation and Certification Programs
for Minority Children at the Erikson Institute and is a member of the Steering Committee at the
University of Illinois Chicago, Ed Leadership and Principal Training Program.
Ms. Okezie-Phillips graduated from the University of Toronto in Canada, where holds an
Honors BA in Feminist Studies, Sociology and Spanish and a Masters Degree in Education from the
Erikson Institute and Loyola University Chicago. She currently lives in Chicago with her husband and dog, Max.