Teresa Gallagher worked as a secretary for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in New York while Dr. Tom Dooley was in Laos. She began corresponding with him when he was in Muong Sing, Laos. She became his volunteer secretary and organized other volunteer secretaries, the "Disc Girls," to help Dooley with his correspondence. Dooley recorded his replies on disc using a SoundScriber machine and forwarded the discs to the Disc Girls, who then transcribed and forwarded his replies.

          Gallagher led the founding of the Tom Dooley Heritage, Inc. in the summer of 1970 to continue Dooley's work. Its primary project was the establishment of the Tom Dooley Hospital in Thailand.