Heather Gallagher Vento Biography

Heather Gallagher Vento is employed as a part-time staff member of The REAP Team (a retreat ministry of the Office of Youth Ministry, of the Archdiocese of St. Louis) and was the Chastity Educator for REAP for over 7 years. Before her full-time employment with The REAP Team, beginning July 2000, Heather has served REAP as a volunteer youth retreat minister since she was a junior in high school, in 1992. As a graduate of Butler University in Indianapolis, IN, Heather holds a bachelor's degree in secondary education and has taught high school social studies. She also studied at University College Dublin in Ireland during her undergraduate work.

Through her experience as a staff member and chastity educator on the REAP Team, Heather's roles have included training and guiding members of The REAP Team to speak clearly on the topic of chastity. The purpose of this is to utilize a variety of witnesses and experiences when sharing the message of chastity to teens. Heather also coordinated of the Archdiocese of St. Louis' Chastity Leadership Programming through The REAP Team. This unique program was featured on the CBS affiliate in St. Louis, KMOV, in January, 2001. Heather's position as Chastity Educator was also featured in The St. Louis Review (Catholic weekly newspaper of St. Louis), North St. Louis County Journal, Beliefnet.com, another story on KMOV and the "Saints and Heroes Among Us" column in the monthly newsletter "EveryDay Catholic" by St. Anthony Messenger Press.

In the past eight years, Heather has spoken on the topic of chastity on over 1000 occasions through her job on REAP, at St. Louis area Catholic grade schools, Catholic high schools, PSR classes, Protestant churches, public high schools, a mental health facility for adolescents, and the University of Missouri-Columbia. She works with an average of at least 10,000 young people every year. Keynote speaking engagements include...San Diego Youth Rally, Oct. 2006; JPII University Young Adult Conference in San Diego, July 2006; Goretti Group Chastity Training Seminar in San Diego, July, 2006; Destination Jesus Conference in Indianapolis, February, 2006; LIFETEEN Inspiration St. Louis, 2003 and 2005; Diocese of Belleville, IL Pro-Life Rally, 2001; Eucharistic Congress, Youth Tract, St. Louis, 2001. Other speaking engagements include...workshops at Steubenville Youth Conference, 2004 and 2005; interview for WYRT Catholic Radio in St. Louis, 2004; The Bridge Christian Radio in St. Louis, 1993; testimony for The Catholic Charismatic Conference in St. Louis, MO, 1992.

Heather has also co-authored a book, A Case for Chastity: The Way to Real Love and True Freedom for Catholic Teens - a best-seller for Liguori Publications, now sold worldwide. The Teacher's Guide of A Case for Chastity will be released in future. In addition, since April 2004, Heather has written many blogs for the Office of Youth Ministry in St. Louis.  In March, 2002, Heather was honored as one of the twelve women in St. Louis who received an Archdiocesan Catholic Women Award. She was the recipient of the Mev Puelo Visionary award.