Meet our Board

Founder, Board President, & Executive Director

Laura Slaughter moved with her family to Lexington from Endicott NY at age of 7 when IBM moved her father. She has been a Kentucky resident ever since. After completing her Bachelor of Art degree in Sociology from University of Kentucky, Laura worked in Child Protective Services in Hardin County and Fayette County for over seven years. Laura returned to University of Kentucky in 1998 to complete her Master of Social Work degree. She worked in the field of addictions and substance abuse counseling for the next decade, working in outpatient and residential treatment. She is a LCSW and LCADC. In 2011, she moved into a private practice setting and focused her practice on helping her clients heal from trauma related difficulties. She developed competency in several different treatment modalities.

Although, her career as a social worker and therapist has helped to define her. Family and parenthood have been bigger places of growth and joy. Laura married and divorced for the first time at a young age. During those years she was raising her oldest son as a single parent on an extremely limited income. She learned about making tough financial choices. In 1994, she met her present husband, Tod. Together they raised five children into adulthood. She and Tod have been raising one of their grandsons, Jacob – now 8 years old, since he was 1 years old.

Laura’s faith plays a major role in directing both her activities and her willingness to step into projects that appear to have many barriers. The impetus for Gleanings Housing came out of her faith walk. While serving at a faith-based community dinner that was meeting at Lyric Theater before the pandemic, Laura encountered several amazing individuals struggling with finding and affording decent housing. The conviction that enough affordable housing will only be developed when many people join together was heard loudly in Laura’s heart. That conviction led to the founding of Gleanings Housing, an organization that is designed to gather the resources of many so that housing can be available for all.

Board Vice President

Carol Sanders was born and raised in Lexington, KY. She was a single mother raising 3 sons. In her teens, education was not her priority, however, she later worked diligently to graduate with her GED at age of 38, from Jessamine County Adult Education. She presently volunteers at several nonprofit charities that focus on helping those without housing - Lighthouse Ministries, Lady Veteran Connect, and Gleanings Housing. Her own story (shared below) explains beautifully why she is both a great asset as Vice President of Board and so passionate about Gleanings’ mission.

“I have been homeless twice but the first time my depression put me on the street. I was connected with the Catholic Action Center where I got a voucher through Kentucky Housing in which I was housed in Nicholasville, KY. After I was housed I started working on myself in which I achieved a G.E.D. in 3 months. I graduated from the new Opportunity School for Women (a 3-week course) in the Fall of 2010. "Please Don't Call Me Homeless, I Don't Call You Home" was a play that I was a part of in which it was our own stories put into a play that lasted from 2011 - 2012.

In December of 2019, I paid my rent at my apartment. My rent was $750.00 and my monthly income was $791.00. I was tired of struggling from month to month, so I took a homeless statue so that I can focus on finding something cheaper so that I can have extra money for other things that I need for the month. I stayed at the Salvation Army for 3-½ months until my application at Salem Village was accepted. At Salem Village, I paid 30% of my income. I can say that I'm living the best life now because I can afford to pay my rent, electric, buy food and other household goods.”

Board Treasurer

Chris will soon add his biographical information for everyone to read. See here soon.

Board Secretary

Jake Tecau serves as a board member for Gleanings Housing in the role of secretary while currently working as the director of outreach ministries at Park UMC in Lexington, KY.

Jake recently married his wife Lauren in 2020 and graduated from Asbury University in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in youth ministry. Currently, he is pursuing a Masters of Divinity at Asbury Seminary. Growing up in the Lexington area, Jake has a heart for the city and the people in it.

“One of the biggest impacts on my faith was the local mission opportunities I was able to participate in as a teenager with my church’s youth group. At the same time, I remember attending youth conferences in the summer where there were big focuses on going to different countries and sharing the gospel, which by all means is important, it always bugged me that the focus never touched on ‘home.’ Lexington is ripe with opportunities to further God’s kingdom, and Gleanings is striving to be one of them by serving those who often get forgotten in our society”

Board Member

Jill Williams was born and raised in Louisville, KY. She joined the Army in 1986 after graduating from high school the previous year and returned to Kentucky in 2007. She remained in Lexington where she retired from the Army Reserves in 2016. Since retiring from the Army, Jill has worked at various government agencies and currently works for the Veterans Administration. She has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Troy State University and a Master of Theology from Campbellsville University. Jill currently lives in Louisville with her husband. She has two adult daughters and three young grandsons.

Jill is so passionate about Gleanings Housing and its mission because she has been a single mother in the position of having to make the decision about paying bills or feeding her children. Additionally, at some point in their adult lives, both of her daughters have experienced homelessness for one reason or another. She has also seen them struggle to find safe homes in both Lexington and Louisville that they could afford. These experiences make her determined to assist Gleanings to succeed in providing more affordable housing in Lexington. Jill is serving on the Board of Directors.

Board Member

Cherice Phelps moved to Lexington from London KY as a teenager. She completed her MBA at EKU and Master’s in Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. While working downtown, she noticed people living in poverty and homeless nearly every day. As a single mother, she was determined that neither she nor her daughter would turn a blind eye to the needs of others. She joined Gleanings Housing to support the mission of helping others find affordable dependable housing.

Cherice has been passionate about helping others and shared a story about a moment that she still carries with her. “I stopped at a local restaurant chain near downtown to grab a quick lunch. A man approached me in the parking lot asking for money. I explained I didn’t have any cash, but I’d be happy to grab him something off the menu. He asked for a few things, so I went in and purchased our meals. When I came back out, I asked if I could sit with him. After we introduces ourselves, we sat to enjoy our meal. He explained his situation. He had lost his job in construction in Florida and had come back to his family in Kentucky. His wife had kicked him out of the house because she couldn’t support him and their kids. She was filing for a divorce. He finally said, ‘You must think I’m completely worthless.’ I realized at that moment that he only saw himself in the light of his circumstances. I gave him my honest answer ‘I hope I see you the way God sees you. As someone worth giving up everything for.’ When we find ourselves in the most hopeless situation, we no longer see our own value. Who we are is not based on what we have or where we live. Our value come from the One who loved us first. But losing everything makes it nearly impossible to see that we are treasured above all things. That’s why the mission of Gleanings Housing is so important. Gleanings Housing helps those who feel hopeless to find hope and security again.”

Board Member

Tiffany is a mother of four children, and has lived in Mount Vernon, KY her entire life. It was through her Bachelor-level practicum with the University of Kentucky, College of Social Work, that Tiffany worked with our Executive Director Laura Slaughter, LCSW as a student case manager and assistant. At this time, Tiffany developed a connection with our Executive Board Members and was invited to stay on as a member of the board.

As of 2023, she is a graduate of the University of Kentucky Graduate School, and has a Masters of Social Work (MSW), Tiffany continues to volunteer time and energy toward the development of affordable housing in urban areas of Kentucky. (Expressly targeting Lexington, Kentucky.) Tiffany focused her educational ambitions on substance use disorders and a person in environment (PIE) approach. In 2023, she gained her CSW credential, along with being employed in a rural recovery treatment center. Through using lived experiences such as being in recovery for 11 years, as well as previous experience volunteering with LEAP, CAP, and other rural nonprofits; she continues to work to aid Gleanings' Board in developing affordable housing for all.

Board Member

John is a Louisville native with a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Louisville.

In 1978 he relocated to Lexington after accepting a job with then White and Congleton Co., a large local general contracting company. It eventually became Congleton-Hacker Company, and he worked there until his retirement in 2021.

John has been married to Peggy for 44 years, and they have two children, who both live in Lexington. He has worked on several build/rebuild projects throughout the years including in Biloxi/Gulfport after Hurricane Katrina, and in Buckhorn, KY on a home repair after the flooding in Eastern Kentucky, plus other remodeling projects. He is an active member of St Paul Catholic Church in Lexington, and has been on several committees throughout the years, and is a longtime member of their Buildings and Grounds committee.

John has always been interested in affordable housing in Lexington and beyond, and is committed to using his experience to complete the Magoffin Street project, and potential future projects.