Carpools, Commutes and Child Care

Janet McLaughlin: A Leader in Children and Families

Janet McLaughlin, the eyes and ears of the Vermont Department of Children and Families. Making big time decisions in the best interest of littlest Vermonters and their families. A leader who is not afraid to take a stand for what matters, she does what she does out of a commitment to public service. Join Erin and Janet as they chat about all things child care, memorable commuting and carpool stories and most importantly, dinner-time decisions.

Zoe Kaslow: Naturalized Vermonter, Neighbor and Community Advocate

Join FCF's Erin Roche for a neighborly, on-the-road conversation with her neighbor and former colleague, Zoe Kaslow. Deeply rooted in her community, Zoe has served on numerous civic and nonprofit boards and brings both personal and professional connections to the world of child care. Together, Erin and Zoe catch up on all things child care, swap business insights, share carpool and commute stories, and—of course—talk dinner plans. Hop in for a ride with these two energized leaders as they blend real-life conversation with meaningful perspective.

May Newsletter 2026

Is your inbox swamped with emails and newsletters? Would you rather listen to what First Children's Finance Vermont has been up to? Use this episode to catch up on all of the happenings in Vermont's ECE world from April and a look into what’s to come for May. From business sustainability to updates from the field, your hosts Erin & Tess have a lot to say and reflect on this month. Tune in to this spirited version of the FCF VT monthly newsletter for the news you didn’t know you needed.

Rebecca Reese: The Intricacies of Human Interactions & More

Like Loretta Lynn, Rebecca is a real life coal miner’s daughter from West Virginia-but with a background in historic preservation and the many historic buildings in Vermont, it’s destiny that Rebecca ended up in Vermont. Join Erin in this entertaining and enlightening conversation with Rebecca as they chat all things family, early childhood education, the intricacies of human interaction and much more. Buckle up because this is an episode you don’t want to miss!

Sherry Carlson: Forging Partnerships and Forging Ahead in the Vermont ECE World

Go back in time to 2017 and learn about Sherry Carlson and all of the groundbreaking work she steered through the Vermont Community Preschool Collaborative to Universal PreK. Navigating policy twists and turns, Carlson stepped into building capacity for infants and toddlers with the now Make Way for Kids Infant/Toddler Capacity Grant Program. Fast forward to today, Sherry continues to be inspiring, dedicated, fast-paced and exemplifies what can happen during a ten year long friendship-can episodes get better than that?