Meet Dougie Gerdts, the first man of Breakwater!

Can you quickly describe yourself?  (education, job history, family, interests, hobbies, etc.)

I have a BA from the University of CA, Santa Barbara in Business Economics, a Masters from Lexington Theological Seminary and a Doctorate from Lancaster Theological Seminary in theology. For the first 20 years of my career I worked for a hotel management/development company in Santa Barbara and then for 25 years I was a Presbyterian pastor. I’ve worked for Breakwater since 2018 as an Account Specialist in Nonprofits. 

I have two children and three grandchildren. My son and his family live in Arlington TX and my daughter and her family live near me in Wilmington. 

I retired from full-time ministry in 2022 and increased my time with Breakwater to half-time. 

Since retiring from full-time work, I’ve pursued my goal of visiting every presidential library (so far I’ve been to 4) and have also taken up photography. For fun I run close to 6 miles every morning, enjoy the swimming pool at my condo building, and keeping up with my active family and grandkids.

Your favorite part of working for Breakwater?

I really enjoy helping my clients serve their constituents and pursue their mission by handling their finances and providing them with accurate and timely data with which to make decisions and plans. I do what I do so they can do what they do. 

What is a Breakwater memory that always makes you smile?

In the earlier days when we were in Independence Mall, a former staff member, Kim Dolan, was in charge of new business. We were growing super fast and all of us were maxed out and no one was ready for new clients. She’d wander through the cubicles trying to grab someone to hand off a client to. None of us would make eye contact with her and we almost hid under our desks to avoid being tapped!

Thanks  — and I attached a photo of my family from Thanksgiving!