Heidi Reyes loves love.

If you talk to her for 30 minutes, the one word you hear more than any other, by a long shot, is “love.” She loves her work, her fiancé, their son, and their life.

Heidi said she enjoys being a caseworker with Bakhhita Empowerment Initiative at its satellite office in Owensboro, Kentucky. She worked as an AmeriCorps Vista at Catholic Charities of Owensboro for two years before becoming the caseworker for Bakhita there, so her transition, she said, was seamless. The position opened just as Heidi graduated from Brescia University with a degree in political science. She had planned to become a lawyer, but her work at Catholic Charities led her to want something “more community oriented.”

As a caseworker, Heidi helps program participants who have experienced sex or labor trafficking identify and access resources to empower them. “Bakhita is a program that is program participant centered,” she said. “We refer to those we work with as ‘program participants’ because they are participating in Bakhita willingly. Whatever it is that they want to do, we look at the different options to ensure that we work together to meet their goals. Never am I saying, ‘I think you should do this.’ What I say is, ‘These are all the options and based on the situation and from my point of view this is what would happen within each scenario.”

Outside of work, Heidi is all about family and fun. She is engaged to “this very lovely man, Larry” with whom she shares a two-and-a-half-year-old son, Sebastian. “He is the loveliest little kid. I love him. Of course, every mom is going to say that, but he’s just a cute little thing.”

She and Larry love to travel, including driving to random towns “and finding their town gems.” One of their favorite not-so-random destinations is Nashville, where they recently bowled at Pinewood Lanes and stayed at the art deco style Noelle Hotel.

According to Heidi, she and Larry love (that’s a capital L-O-V-E) to experience food and to find the most authentic food experiences. They enjoy discovering restaurants wherever they go, as well as cooking and eating together at home to decompress from long, busy days. Many evenings you will find them prepping dishes and “involving our little guy as much as possible.”

Music also is a huge love of Heidi. “I play the violin and I sing a little bit. I love art. I love music. I like feeling happy. I love being calm and at peace, so I’m always seeking things that bring me peace.” For her, that means R&B with a touch of tech, or acoustic that is light on the vocals with a twist of older music. That will be on her “expansive playlist.”

Heidi likes to flip furniture and once at a thrift store found a three-piece set that she “just couldn’t let go of.” She paid $70 for what turned out to be worth $3,000. She likes “to find beauty in anything” and loves “just doing a little bit of everything.”

And love. Don’t forget love.