Catholic Women Speakers | Blessed is She Team Members

When it comes to planning an event, conference, or parish night for Catholic women, there are so many details to handle and decisions to make. At the top of that last is the question of finding an engaging speaker(s).

You want someone who is easy to work with, who will prayerfully prepare for your event, who presents dynamically, who is faithful to the Magisterium, who has a message relevant to today's modern Catholic, and who has a passion for Christ.

Many of our devotional writers and other Blessed is She team members speak professional and fit that exact description. We've included their information below so that those of you planning and organizing these powerful Catholic events for women can meet and contact some of the best Catholic speakers in circuit.

Catholic Women Speakers

Annie Deddens

Annie is a writer and producer who works with people who want to grow deeper in their faith and prayer life. She believes spending just a few minutes in prayer each day can make all the difference in your relationship with God and in how you get through this imperfect, messy life. Annie has worked at CNN as well as a handful of other TV, radio stations, and newspapers, as a writer and producer, but now she uses those same skills to run a prayer ministry with her husband, called Pray More Novenas, where they pray with more than 450,000 people around the world. As an extension of that ministry, she also produces online retreats for Lent and Advent. When she isn’t working on Pray More Novenas or on her online retreats, she’s writing over on her blog, Catholic Wife, Catholic Life or for Blessed is She, where she’s a devotional writer. Her favorite saints are St. Anne—for her inspiring faith and hope during dark times, St. Maria Goretti—for her willingness to suffer for Christ, and St. Joan of Arc—for her strength and faithful resilience. Annie and her husband have been married for six years and they live in Dayton, Ohio.

Potential Speaking Topics

• Pray More Novenas: The Power of Prayer & Need for Community
• Unanswered prayers
• Suffering
• Evangelizing through beauty

Travel Availability

Annie is able to speak in and around the Dayton area, and she is also happily willing to travel near and far!

Contact

You can reach Annie at annie@deddensmedia.com.

Katie Cassady

Katie Cassady is a wife, mom, writer, avid gardener, and Midwestern transplant in the Denver metro. She holds a Master’s degree in Pastoral ministry and has worked in young adult ministry, Theology on Tap, and social service programs. She has a heart for Theological reflection, marriage prep, the dignity of women, Catholic Social Teaching, and the stewardship of time, talent and treasure, with particular attention to reflecting on our relationship with the natural world as a part of that stewardship call. She wrote Sunday Fun for Faith Filled Families and loves inviting people to heed the call to Sabbath and rest. 

Potential Speaking Topics

• Sabbath
• Stewardship
• Laudato Si
• The Christian life and beekeeping
• Women in Scripture
• Edith Stein and the dignity of women
• Advent
• Epiphany
• Lent
• Catholic Social Teaching
• Service group reflections
• Theological Reflection
• Visio divina

Open to other mutually-agreed upon topics

Travel Availability

Katie is available in the Denver metro, and open to traveling outside the metro area depending on dates and distance.

Contact

You can contact Katie by email at katie@unexpectedhoney.com.

Michelle Karen D'Silva

Michelle Karen D’Silva is an Indian-born, international Catholic speaker, residing in Qatar, with her husband, Jensil and her two children, Kristen and Nathan.

As a former atheist, Michelle passionately shares her conversion story at retreats and conferences across the Middle Eastern, Asian, Far Easter, and Oceania regions.

Michelle has held various leadership roles, both at local and international level. Under the mandate of the Charis Youth Asia Oceania team, she co-authored the book Life in the Spirit: Youth Edition which has resulted in animating a number of trainings, workshops, and seminars internationally. As a worship leader and lover of music, Michelle has led worship in multiple countries, including the World Youth Day. Having also pioneered the first Catholic Charismatic youth group in Qatar in 2012, Michelle is popularly sought for mentoring young adults and speaking at Youth Conferences.

In 2021, Michelle felt a deep desire to encourage women in their faith. That tug resulted in her podcast show “Unravel.” Michelle is also the founder of WellSpring Women, a private Facebook community that has hosted several virtual events comprising a sisterhood from over 30 nations.

She continues to remain an active member of the National Service of Communion (NSC), overlooking the pastoral needs of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Qatar.

Potential Speaking Topics

• Conversion testimony from Atheism to Catholicism
• Seeing God as Father
• Series on the Holy Spirit
• Identity in Christ
• Mission and evangelization
• Mary, model for young people
• Vocation and calling
• Spiritual growth and maturity in Christ
• Media and the current culture
• Discipleship
• Raising Godly leaders
• The feminine genius
• Repentance, forgiveness, and mercy
• Jesus and women
• Lent and Advent themed topics
• Open to other topics

Travel Availability

Michelle lives in Qatar. She is willing to travel depending on dates.

Contact

Michelle has written a diverse range of Bible studies, faith-formation resources, and tools for youth ministry, all of which are featured on her website www.michelledsilva.com.

Bonnie Engstrom

Bonnie Engstrom is a popular blogger and speaker. She and her husband live with their seven children in Central Illinois and her son’s alleged miraculous healing through the intercession of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen was submitted to the Vatican for Sheen’s beatification. Bonnie has traveled nationally to present at various moms’ groups, schools, fundraising galas, parish events, and retreats. She has addressed audiences as small as 25 and as large as 850. Bonnie is a devotion writer for Blessed is She and can be found online at her blog A Knotted Life or on Instagram @BonnieEngstrom.

Potential Speaking Topics

• James' approved miracle through the intercession of Fulton Sheen
• Following Mary's example to find peace and joy in suffering
• Building community
• Bringing the liturgical year into our homes

Travel Availability

Bonnie lives in Central Illinois but is happy to travel outside of the Midwest.

Contact

You can read more and contact Bonnie here.

MaryRuth Hackett

MaryRuth Hackett holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and has a passion for helping others understand human development throughout the lifespan. She is the host of the podcast Parenting Smarts which is a joint project with the Diocese of Phoenix, and is a contributing author to our children’s devotional prayer book called Rise Up. You can find her on Instagram @maryruthhackett, see more of her work here, or listen to her podcasts via iTunes.

Potential Speaking Topics

• Practical parenting
• Child development
• Catholic family life
• Domestic church
• Our identity as women
• Living our your vocation
• Developing virtue

Travel Availability

MaryRuth lives in the Southwestern United States but is willing to travel anywhere.

Contact

You can contact MaryRuth by email at mhackettaz@gmail.com.

Debra Herbeck

Debbie Herbeck has shared with many her personal journey of faith from Judaism to Christianity and subsequent entrance into the Catholic Church. For the past thirty-five years, Debbie Herbeck has worked extensively in youth and women’s ministry, led mission retreats and mission trips, and mentored and discipled high school and college age women. She is the founder and director of Pine Hills Girls’ Camp and has spoken at women’s, youth and adult conferences and events throughout the world.

Debbie is the founder and leader of the Be Love Revolution, a ministry that exists to help young women know the personal love of Jesus, to live freely and confidently, and be empowered to spread God’s Love to all they meet.

She has written Safely Through the Storm, 120 Reflections on Hope and Firmly on the Rock, 120 Reflections on Faith, and Love Never Fails, 120 Reflections on Love. She and her husband Peter have co-authored a book entitled, When the Spirit Speaks, Touched by God’s Word. Debbie is a frequent writer for Blessed is She, an online community for Catholic women.

Potential Speaking Topics

• My personal testimony from Judaism to the Catholic Church
• Enough is Enough: Finding our Identity in Christ
• Freedom in Christ
• Spiritual warfare
• Talks for moms about raising daughters
• Media and the current culture
• Discipleship
• Evangelizing youth
• My personal encounter with Mother Teresa
• Our vocation is love

Debbie also plans and leads many junior high and high school retreats for girls with a team of young women from Be Love Revolution.

Travel Availability

Debbie lives in the midwest and is willing to travel almost anywhere.

Contact

You can reach Debbie at dherbs24@gmail.com.

Rocio Hermes

Rocio Hermes is a Dominican-born, US-raised, part-time nanny who is excited about building community, writing poetry, and sharing the message of the Theology of the Body. She holds a Master’s degree in Theology and lives in Berlin with her husband, where they are secretly the best cake-baking team in town. She is a contributing author to Blessed Conversations: Dwell.

Potential Speaking Topics

• Theology of the Body
• Our identity as children of God
• The Father’s Heart
• The Eucharist
• Vocational Discernment and Religious Life
• Dating and Marriage
• Miscarriage and Suffering
• Our Baptism and the Inner Life
• The Sacraments and Healing
• Open to other topics

Travel Availability

Rocio now lives in Berlin, Germany but is excited and open to travel for ministry. She was raised in the Tri-State Area and travels there often.

Contact

You can reach Rocio by email at rocioesthermaria@gmail.com.

Megan Hjelmstad

Megan Hjelmstad is a wife and hockey mom 24/7 and an Army Reservist in her “spare” time. She calls Denver home and loves to connect authentically with women. Through many years of physical suffering, the Lord has led Megan to a deep transformation of heart into real intimacy with Him—for which she is forever grateful. When not writing, speaking, or leading The Well Mentorship Program. Megan is a fervent bibliophile, tea drinker, sleep lover, and avid admirer of Colorado’s great outdoors.

Megan has experience with small to large groups, keynotes, and retreat settings.

Potential Speaking Topics

• Authentic Identity and Worth
• The Feminine Genius
• Spiritual Motherhood
• Foundations of Relational Prayer
• The Ignatian Rules of Discernment
• Discovering Meaning, Hope, and Purpose in the Midst of Suffering
• Courage in the Midst of Fear
• Freedom through Detachment
• Lent and Advent topics
• Other topics and tailored talks upon request

Travel Availability

Megan is available to speak in the Denver area may be available to travel depending on dates and distance.

Contact

You can reach Megan by email at megan@meganhjelmstad.com or explore her website here.

Liz Kelly

Liz (Elizabeth) Kelly, a native Minnesotan, is a noted speaker, retreat leader and award-winning author, whose works include short stories, arts and music reviews, books on prayer and worship, and meditations on faith, spiritual struggle, and Christian womanhood. She has written seven books, including May Crowning, Mass, and Merton: 50 Reasons I Love Being Catholic, which won the Catholic Press Association first place award for Best Popular Presentation of the Faith in 2007. She is also the author of “The Wind,” a short story nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2001. Kelly contributes to various periodicals, including Our Sunday Visitor, and her written works frequently appear in the Magnificat’s Lenten and Advent Companions. Her monthly column, “Your Heart, His Home,” is published throughout the United States. Kelly’s newest book, Jesus Approaches: What Contemporary Women Can Learn about Healing, Freedom and Joy from the Women of the New Testament, is a compelling and practical guide to healing and immersive prayer. Jesus Approaches is the winner of the Independent Press’s “Distinguished Favorite” award and the Catholic Press Association’s award for Popular Biblical Studies, both in 2018. It was chosen by the US Catholic Book Club as the October 2018 selection.

In addition to writing, Kelly serves as a spiritual director, having received her certification as a spiritual director from the Cenacle of our Lady of Divine Providence School of Spirituality in association with the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2015. She leads retreats using the Ignatian exercises, with a particular focus on helping women to flourish in their faith. Because of this work, she is in demand as a retreat speaker and has been a featured guest on radio and TV shows, including spots on National Public Radio, Relevant Radio, EWTN, The Christophers, and Salt and Light Television. (Two of her talks can be found on this website: click on Recorded Talks on the top menu bar.) Recently, Kelly was awarded the New Ulm Area Catholic Schools Humanitarian Award (2017). The award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional personal courage and whose faith and actions have served as an inspiration to others.

Another of her loves is music, in which Kelly has a long background, having performed as a jazz vocalist with some of the best artists in the world, in venues including the North Sea Jazz Festival and the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. She has recorded two CDs, It Seems to Me and Anima Christi.

Presently, Kelly works as managing editor for Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, a highly regarded academic journal published out of the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota, while also serving as adjunct professor of Catholic Studies there since 2009.

Potential Speaking Topics

• Women of the New Testament
• Silence
• Ignatian prayer
• The Last 7 Utterances
• Giving women permission to “fail”
• “Catholic" means "help”
• Conquering perfectionism
• Forgiveness
• Reasons I love being Catholic
• Women and flourishing
• Christian friendship, wisdom
• Flourishing in the single state
• Compassion and the humanity of Jesus
• Beauty as necessary to human flourishing and a life of faith
• What the shepherds can teach us about Advent preparation
• “Created for Mercy” (retreat)
• “The Receptive Feminine Heart” (retreat)
• “Tidings of Comfort and Joy” (retreat)
• Jesus Approaches women’s study

Travel Availability

Liz lives in MN but will travel anywhere.

Contact

Please inquire at LizK.org for more information, podcasts, reviews, and references.

Susanna Parent

Susanna Parent loves waking up to the sunrise in her Minnesota backyard and experiencing life anew through the eyes of her children. A firm believer in Saint Mother Teresa’s words, “To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it” she finds joy in filling her lamp through study, good books, travel, a strong community, and finding “flow” through writing.

Susanna has experience with small to large groups and keynotes.

Potential Speaking Topics

• How My Parents Helped Me Keep The Faith
• Hospitality as Mission
• The Beauty of Priesthood and the Religious Life and Their Complementarity to the Laity
• Intimacy With The Lord Through Silence
• Hope Amidst Suffering
• Experiencing God Through Your Children
• How To Live Prayer With Your Children
• Having Fun Through Marriage & Motherhood
• The Beauty of Pilgrimage
• How God Calls Us Forth One Step At A Time
• How To Live In The Present Moment
• Our Calling As Laity

• Open To Other Topics

Travel Availability

Contact

You can read Susanna’s work here and contact her at s.bolle.210@gmail.com.

Elza Spaedy

Since her miraculous healing from the painful trauma of sexual abuse, Elza Spaedy has been on fire for the Lord, ready to let Him use her and her story to heal others. In addition to being an author and public speaker, Elza is the Founder and Director of Healed and Restored, a nonprofit she created to help women heal from their deep wounds caused by physical and sexual abuse, including sex trafficking. She’s also the host of the Healed and Restored Podcast. She works as a realtor in the Lake Norman area of North Carolina. Elza loves to entertain and enjoys preparing and sharing a great meal with her family and friends. She has been married to her husband David for over 20 years and they have three children.

Potential Speaking Topics

• Her personal testimony of healing from childhood trauma from abuse and finding freedom through Christ
• Healing through forgiveness and self-compassion
• The transformational power of suffering
• The need for spiritual mentorship
• Reclaiming your identity as a beloved child of God
• Learning to listen to God's voice
• Replacing satan's lies with God's truth
• Becoming wounded healers to a hurting world

Travel Availability

Contact

You can reach Elza at elzaspaedy@gmail.com.

Tricia Tembreull

Tricia Tembreull is a California girl with a boundless passion for life. After two decades of ministering to teens and youth ministers as a trainer, ministry mentor, and speaker in Catholic youth ministry, Tricia now serves as Campus Minister at USC Caruso Catholic Center. She loves adventure and seeks it everywhere she goes. As an avid foodie, she enjoys testing new recipes out on friends and family, gathering them around the table to encounter Christ in one another and be drawn to the satisfying unity we crave in the Eucharist. You can find out more about her here.

Potential Speaking Topics

• Theology of the Body
• Spiritual health and finding a prayer life
• Identity
• Single life, dating, and relationships
• Ministering in the Church
• College life and how to live out your Faith on campus
• Mercy and healing
• Restoring Truth, Beauty, and Goodness
• Hope and suffering
• Other topics: open to consideration

Travel Availability

Tricia lives in Southern California, but depending on dates and distance, she is willing to travel to serve.

Contact

You can reach Tricia by email at tembreulltricia@gmail.com.

So, who will you be bringing to your next Catholic women's event?!

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