Slater wrote the lyrics for the Off-Broadway stage revue Newyorkers produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2001.
His first work with Alan Menken was writing the lyrics for the film Home on the Range in 2004 and the stage production Sister Act the Musical (2006).
[4] He wrote the lyrics for the stage adaptation of Disney's The Little Mermaid (2008), replacing the animated film's original lyricist Howard Ashman, who died in 1991.
[8] Adding to his career as a lyricist, Slater wrote the lyrics for the songs in Disney's 50th animated feature Tangled.
[13] Slater lives in New York City with his wife, Wendy Leigh Wilf, and two sons, Benjamin and Daniel.