Before Cassondra Vornberger ever stepped into the Kentucky State Capitol, she was a mom trying to figure out an impossible equation.
When her oldest son was born, Cassondra was working at a daycare. But that soon changed.
“I couldn’t afford childcare,” she said. “It basically took up my whole paycheck.”
So, she left the workforce to stay at home with her children, setting aside her professional aspirations.
“Since I can remember, I always wanted to work with children,” Cassondra said. “My dream is to open my own daycare someday.” Soon, she’d get an opportunity to change her circumstances and bring that idea closer to reality.
Cassondra got connected with a group of parents advocating for early childhood education through Northern Kentucky’s EC LEARN program at her child’s school. At the time, she had no background in advocacy.
“That first time I volunteered to go on the Frankfort trip in 2024, I didn’t know what to expect,” Cassondra said.
What she found was parents, educators and childcare professionals using their lived experiences to help shape policy decisions impacting children and families across Kentucky.
“The community aspect of it is really what had my heart,” she said. “People were just so willing to help.”
Every year, United Way’s Live United Day brings together advocates from across the commonwealth to speak directly with lawmakers about issues affecting education, family stability and workforce opportunity.
“The most meaningful policy solutions come from listening to the people living these experiences every day,” said United Way of Greater Cincinnati President and CEO Moira Weir. “When we connect parents, educators and partners around a shared goal, we don’t just help shape better policy — we help create new opportunities for families and stronger outcomes for children.”
That philosophy guides United Way’s cradle-to-career approach, which strengthens educational success by investing in children early, supporting families and helping build pathways into high-demand careers like early childhood education.
Through partnerships with organizations like EC LEARN, United Way helps connect families and educators to both advocacy opportunities and the systems designed to support them. For Cassondra, that led directly to the next chapter.
At Live United Day the following year, she met the woman who would soon become her boss. The connection also introduced her to the support that made it possible to return to work — Kentucky’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), a key priority United Way and its partners advocated to strengthen because of its ability to help families and the early childhood workforce.
“If you’re working in childcare, you get free childcare for your own children,” said Cassondra. “I was like, ‘Sign me up!’ The next week, I had an interview.”
Cassondra started as an assistant teacher. Today, she leads the preschool at Easterseals Redwood in Florence. She earned her associate’s degree in early childhood education in October 2025.
Relationships built through United Way and its partners helped shape her confidence and sense of purpose — something she said keeps her returning to Live United Day year after year.
“I love networking and getting to know more people that are in this field and share the passion for working with children like I do.”
Now a three-time participant, Cassondra values the experience as both an advocate and an educator.
“I kind of thought, ‘I’m just a parent, what am I going to be able to change?’” she said. “But the more voices we have out there, the bigger the impact.”
Cassondra’s everyday work in her current role.
“We have a lot of children here who are non-verbal, and they need a voice too,” she said.
Through advocacy, she’s found her own voice — along with a career pathway that once felt out of reach.
“I think it’s played a big part in my journey for sure,” she said. “Without going on that trip, I feel like I might not be where I am today.”
