Personal
Charles Copley Gerdes was born and raised in Saint Petersburg, Fl. He and his wife, Cecily Valenty Gerdes, were married in 2016 and have two children, Calley and Cade. Copley and his family are members at Pasadena Yacht and Country Club. They enjoy afternoons on the boat, playing golf, and spending time with their family. Both Cecily and Copley have a passion for wine and you can often find them enjoying a glass after the kids go to bed!
Professional
In 2011, Copley joined Northwestern Mutual as an Intern. I quickly became a Winter Camp attendee (Top 100 Interns during the 4th Quarter) and became a full-time Financial Representative. In 2013, he was named College Unit Director for the St. Pete district office and has since become a Growth and Development Director. This new position allows him to recruit and develop new advisors to our amazing firm while also running his personal practice. St. Pete is his hometown and Copley loves the opportunity to help its citizens become financially secure while also helping people find their amazing future with Northwestern Mutual.
Copley has a very diverse professional background. He began as a religion major with an emphasis on Catholic Studies at Saint Leo University. While at Saint Leo, he was a two-sport Division II athlete, participating in baseball and swimming. After graduating in 2006, he took a graduate assistant position with the baseball team, and worked his way to recruiting coordinator. In 2008, he left Saint Leo for the business world and became a Business Analyst with FrankCrum, Inc. in Clearwater, Fl. Copley handled a multitude of business-to-business situations including client on-boarding and retention. In 2010, he joined Keane, Reese, Vesely and Gerdes P.A. as Director of Special Projects. Working with his father, Charlie Gerdes, was an amazing opportunity to see first-hand how a law office works.
Education
Saint Leo University - Religion (B.A.)
Saint Leo University - Coaching Certificate - State of Florida
Awards and Recognition
National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Quality Award 2014-2015
Award recognizing commitment to excellence in service to clients and industry
Lending a hand in my community.
As part of Northwestern Mutual, I'm proud to help accelerate the search for better childhood cancer treatments while supporting families undergoing treatment, and survivors from late effects. Here are some of the organizations we partner with:
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF)
ALSF funds cancer research, raises awareness, and supports the families of children with cancer. Since 2012, Northwestern Mutual, its employees, and financial professionals like me have donated more than $20 million to support ALSF and fund over 400,000 research hours.
Beads of Courage
Beads of Courage is an art-in-medicine program that helps kids with cancer tell their unique treatment story through colorful beads that are symbols of their courage.
Board Member of the Saint Petersburg Police Athletic League (PAL)
The Police Athletic League of St. Petersburg provides enriching after school and summer programs to at-risk children in our community. Kids ages 5-10 participate in activities in the areas of education; health and wellness; science, technology, engineering, arts and math; and sports, fitness and recreation. In addition, PAL offers a pre-teen program, developed for the especially vulnerable youth ages 11-14 to provide life skills; character and leadership development; eye-opening experiences; and career exploration during these critical adolescent years.
Founder and President of Love McKinley
“To inspire hope and support local families who have been impacted by pediatric cancer, and fund organizations that aspire to find a cure for these brave children." We began this endeavor with a purpose specifically directed at supporting, and serving local families with a child undergoing treatment for pediatric cancer in the greater Tampa Bay area.
Committee Member on Northwestern Mutual Community Action Committee
The Northwestern Mutual Community Action Committee works to enhance community involvement and our local brand through volunteer and fundraising efforts focused on supporting the mission of eradicating childhood cancer. We provide the Greater Tampa Bay community “with opportunities to raise money and awareness of childhood cancer causes, primarily research into new treatments and cures. We strive to encourage and empower others to get involved and make a difference for children with cancer.”
Here are my areas of expertise
Financial Planning
Insurance Protection Strategies
Life Insurance Strategies
Retirement Planning & Income Strategies
Education Planning & Funding
Disability Planning
Multigenerational Planning
Estate Planning
How Northwestern Mutual helps you live the life you want.
When people feel better about their money, good things happen—they become more confident and feel more secure. For more than 160 years, Northwestern Mutual has helped people achieve the financial flexibility they need to live more and worry less.
Being a mutual company means Northwestern Mutual reports to its clients, not Wall Street. They don't believe in chasing fads or taking undue risk for short-term gains. Instead, they take a long-term approach—both in the way we help people plan to reach their goals, and in the way they do business. This has served their clients (and mine) well through all kinds of economic ups and downs, including wars, recessions, even the recent pandemic.
It's why I'm happy to be part of a company that's in it for the long-haul and prioritizes clients over profit.
