Geri McKenzie is leaving her role as Wilshire’s executive director of administration to pursue other opportunities. Her departure will be effective Aug. 31.
Geri joined the staff in June 2005 and worked for 18 years in Wilshire’s Pathways to Ministry program, first as a part-time coordinator and eventually as associate director.
Senior Pastor Timothy Peoples said, “For 20 years, Geri has been an invaluable member of our team — bringing not only exceptional skill and dedication to her work but also warmth, kindness and a spirit of collaboration that has touched all of us. Whether leading us through StrengthsFinder, introducing new residents to the system or simply the way she showed up every day with an open door, being there for all of us, Geri made a lasting impact.”
Geri said, “It has been a joy and privilege to do this work for 20 years, first helping in the important work of the residency program and these last two years caring for our staff. It’s been special getting to work with Timothy as both a resident and as senior pastor.”
Geri was hired by then-Senior Pastor George Mason in the early years of the pastoral residency program, and she played a major role in shaping and formalizing its curriculum and operations. She worked closely with over 40 residents, providing logistical and moral support as they navigated their two-year terms and beyond.
Jakob Topper, a residency alum and pastor of North Haven Church in Norman, Oklahoma, said, “Geri’s work with the residents will outlive all of us. She may not have taught me how to preach, but she taught me something even more essential: how to truly see each person who makes up a congregation. She taught me to see others, and myself, as human beings: lovely, fallible, and deserving of grace, every one of us.”
In her Pathways role, Geri managed interns and acted as landlord to Resident Row, the four resident parsonages on Springside Drive. She served on the board of visitors of the Baptist House of Studies at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology.
Geri became executive director of administration in 2023. “With the pastor transition and the pause of the residency program for evaluation, it was the right time for me to take on a new challenge. I appreciate the church trusting me in this role,” she said. Geri manages building operations, facilities, hospitality, food services, human resources and oversees most administrative staff.
“I feel like we’ve accomplished a lot recently,” Geri says, citing key hires, a reimagining of Wilshire’s kitchen staffing and policies and launching major projects like the long-delayed water intrusion repairs.
Helping people understand their gifts and calling has been a staple of Geri’s tenure on staff. It was her engagement with this work as a lay person that led to her working at Wilshire. “I was leading a class at Wilshire called Serving by God’s Design, which led to me getting trained by Gallup as a StrengthsFinder coach,” she recalled. “I did sessions with staff, including George. That’s when he mentioned that the residency program could use some admin help, which led to me coming on board.”
Geri still conducts StrengthsFinder sessions with new staff, residents and interns and has also led Enneagram classes for staff. Amid the transitions of the last few years, she has worked with the staff on team development and identifying values.
Geri and her husband, Mark, joined Wilshire in 1992 and raised their daughter, Harper, here. Geri taught elementary school for two years before earning a master’s degree in counseling from Texas A&M University–Commerce. She served as an academic advisor at SMU before coming to work at Wilshire.