Dirk Gerlach has worked in development and emergency relief for over 25 years. His experience includes working with institutional donors and fundraising for organizations such as ZOA, World Vision Brussels, the Christoffel Blind Mission, Samaritan's Purse, and a number of other Christian organizations. He also spent seven years overseas working as a development aid worker in the EU delegations in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Hanoi, Vietnam, and served as Operations Director for World Vision South Pacific in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. He is a co-founder of WEA Partnership e.V. and, since 2022, has established and developed the Crisis Response Coordination Center of the World Evangelical Alliance.