About

Trish Sullivan Vanni, M.Div., Ph.D.

Thanks for visiting this site. I am a consultant to parishes, ministry professional groups and Catholic publishers in the areas of formation for ministry, vision casting and mission development. Some of you may know me from my days as the director of The Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership Project, a Lilly Endowment funded initiative researching parish pastoral practice and ministry. For five years, I was the director of The Leaven Center, a non-profit ministry center that addressed multiple aspects of Catholic parish ministry vitality.

Prior to entering ministry, I was president of Sullivan Communications, a marketing and communication firm serving clients in what was then called the information industry. My work received numerous awards for excellence from professional groups and I was a regular speaker in key industry gatherings. Former clients included Dow Jones & Co., America Online, Knight-Ridder, Merrill Lynch, USWEST, Bell Atlantic, Merck, Sony and many others.

I’m a Hoya (CAS ’81) and received a Master of Divinity degree from St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Ecclesiology and Organizational Leadership Theory at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, Ca. I’ve worked extensively in parishes and has consulted with national ministry organizations (including NALM, NOCERCC and the Pastoral Summit) as an instructor and facilitator.

I’m orginally a Jersey girl, but now I live in Eden Prairie, MN with my sculptor husband Peter. Our three children — Nora, Justin, and Mairead — are the light of my life.

Vanni CV April 2017