The team leader for the Ecuador Deaf Ministry team is Miss Heather Hartkopf. She is on nursing faculty at Pensacola Christian College and enjoys working with nursing students both in the classroom and clinical settings.

For more than 10 years, Heather has been involved in Deaf ministry. She currently serves as a volunteer interpreter for Campus Church services and teaches an intermediate American Sign Language (ASL) course. She has traveled with many YOM missions teams to Chile, Peru, Papua New Guinea, and Ivory Coast.