Heather Reynolds Returns to Catholic Charities Fort Worth
Through divine timing and with the support of the Executive Board and Bishop Michael Olson, CCFW is overjoyed to announce the return of none other than Heather Reynolds as the next President and Chief Executive Officer.
“We took a different approach with the hiring of this CEO role by seeking out talent ourselves,” says Allison Rix, CCFW’s Interim Board Chair and the Chair of the CEO Selection Committee. “When the selection committee heard Heather was returning to Fort Worth, we actively pursued her given her unmatched strategic vision, fundraising, and leadership skills both at this agency and at Notre Dame. It’s one of the most exciting hires we’ve made, as we have agreed to a long-term tenure to ensure not only stability for today, but also the runway and planning required to eventually hire and train a successor under her leadership someday.”
Heather returns to CCFW from the University of Notre Dame, where she has served as the Michael L. Smith Managing Director at the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) for the past seven years. There, she advanced the fight against poverty on a national scale, growing LEO from a $1.5 million operation to over $10 million, all in service to a mission to reduce poverty through evidence-based programs and policies.
Prior to joining Notre Dame, Heather was with CCFW for 17 years. Heather joined Catholic Charities Fort Worth initially at the age of 22 as an intern in the clinical counseling department and went on to become CEO at the age of 25. Under her leadership, she was able to free the agency to focus on its core mission by transitioning CCFW from a mostly federally-funded organization to one primarily funded through private donations. On the service side, Heather transformed the organization towards a ‘both/and’ approach: help families with the struggles they have today and then also offer them a long-term journey out of poverty. It was this approach that drew the attention and ultimately the partnership of Notre Dame, where evidence-based and research-backed programs like CCFW’s Padua and Stay the Course were aimed at long-term solutions that helped families escape poverty.
“I am thrilled to be returning to Catholic Charities Fort Worth and am grateful to Bishop Olson and the CCFW Board of Directors for the opportunity to serve at the helm of an organization that I fiercely love and believe in,” says Heather Reynolds. “Catholic Charities Fort Worth has a long history of being the extension of the Catholic Church in serving the most vulnerable. There is so much work to be done in service to those struggling in poverty. I can’t wait to help take what we started and scale it with the people and community that already have my heart.”
Heather will formally step into the President/CEO role mid-February 2026 after finalizing her work with the University of Notre Dame and moving her family back to Fort Worth. Board Chair Beth Kwasny will remain interim CEO until then.
CCFW is thrilled to welcome Heather back. Her return marks a homecoming filled with hope, purpose, and renewed vision. Under her leadership, the agency looks forward to reestablishing itself as a thought leader in relentlessly ending poverty.