Neill Vaughan



Neill Vaughan is the Executive Director of Ignite the Change (ITC) , a non profit organization formed to break the cycle of poverty for homeless children by making an intentional, strategic and personal investment in their lives, in the name of Jesus. ITC’s mission is to operate the finest programs to foster academic success, teach social skills, train in vocational skills and to enhance the ability for children-in-care to achieve their potential and experience social advancement, abiding in God’s love. Neill lives at March Air Base directly across the street from Amelia’s Light, a homeless shelter for women with children.

ITC operates The Learning Train, an onsite learning center at a homeless shelter on March Air Base in Riverside, CA. He coaches a football team he started made up of youth from the shelter.
In Mexico, ITC operates Estándares Internacionales para Casas Infantiles “EICI” (International Standards for Children’s Homes), a newly forming Mexican civil association with a vision to set a new standard of excellence for Baja Children’s Homes using best practices with high standards of accountability. The EICI team is currently in discussions with an organization that runs Baja children’s home with 45 children, with the intent to take over the operations.

Neill & his family answered the call for full time missions work in 1994, sold their Temecula, CA home and lived onsite at an Ensenada orphanage for 2 years. Because of his advocacy work with orphans, Neill has been threatened several times, including on one occasion having to immediately leave Mexico. He leads an advocacy group including 30 orphan victims of abuse, now adults, that were physically and sexually abused at a Baja orphanage.

From his experiences with Mexican orphanages, his advocacy work for victims of abuse that occurred at a Mexican orphanage, Neill is committed to helping to lead a movement to improve conditions for Baja orphans using Best Practices. Prior to becoming a missionary, Neill led major implementations of technology solutions such as Customer Relationship Management, Sales Automation and Groupware deployments for companies like Comcast Cable, Bank of America, Sony and Raychem. As a 3rd party consultant serving “C” level executives, Neill managed the implementation of Best Practices involving sales process reengineering and workflow automation solutions involving large scale, complex technology projects requiring significant relationship management skills. He is a visionary leader who can design innovative solutions to complex problems and has excellent skills working directly with children and youth.

He has used his gifts in ministry and experience with Best Practices to benefit orphaned children, to improve the experience for visiting missions work groups, and to develop advocacy programs for victims of abuse. He has developed programs from birth to maturity to benefit orphans such as garden, library and construction/maintenance projects. Working directly with children, Neill leads sports and recreation programs, tutoring, discipleship; bible studies and serves as a father figure to homeless children.

He has been married to his wife Bethany for 17 years and has two adoptive children ages 14 & 11.