Lara Vaughan

Lara N. Vaughan co-founded Parchman, Vaughan & Company, L.L.C. in 1996 together with Todd Parchman, a former colleague from the investment bank Ferris, Baker Watts, Inc. in Baltimore, Maryland. The firm is a sector-focused boutique investment bank that has spent roughly three decades advising clients in the education and training, business services, and human capital industries on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, capital structure, and restructuring matters. In April 2026 the firm marked its 30th year of service to these sectors.

Before founding the firm, Vaughan worked as an investment banker at Ferris, Baker Watts, Inc. Earlier in her career she served in the Overseas Private Investment Corporation's (OPIC) Special Assets Division, where she specialized in international loan workout and restructuring — experience that aligns with the firm's later financial-advisory and distressed/restructuring work.

Vaughan holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in International Finance from American University and a Bachelor of Arts in Business (with a French minor) from Stetson University. She is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma honor societies.

Beyond the firm, Vaughan is an Independent Director of the Davis Series Mutual Funds. She has held a range of education and nonprofit board roles, including serving as a trustee of E.C. Montessori School and as a board member of the Center for Education Reform and the Education Industry Leadership Board. She has also volunteered as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate / Guardian Ad Litem for abused and neglected children and as an Ambassador for the Iron Disorders Institute.

• Role is advisory, not principal investing. Parchman, Vaughan & Company represents buyers and sellers of publicly and privately held companies; it does not appear to deploy angel/seed capital. A founder seeking equity from "Lara Vaughan" as an angel is likely misinformed.
• Deep, narrow sector specialization: education & training, business services, and human capital / workforce development. The firm positions its value around sector expertise and valuation technique within these niches.
• Three service lines: (1) M&A advisory — mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures for both buy-side and sell-side; (2) financial advisory — valuation, fairness opinions, capital-structure optimization, and distressed/restructuring situations; (3) non-profit consulting — strategic planning, operational analysis, and financial restructuring for independent schools and nonprofits.
• Typical engagement: advising owners/management of education companies through a sale to a strategic acquirer or financial sponsor, rather than providing growth capital.