Our Staff

Amber Gilles
​Office Manager/Streaming Service Operator
amber@1stpresby.org

​Amber Gilles is the Office Manager at First Presbyterian. She began work in the office in April 2021. Amber is an East Side of Waterloo native, having attended West High School, Hawkeye Community College, the University of Northern Iowa, and currently working on completing a degree in accounting at Upper Iowa University. She has 10+ years of experience at various local businesses working in accounting, payroll, human resources, and office management. She enjoys working in the background helping to make the various office details run smoothly. Amber lives with her husband, Gary Jr., and two daughters, Iris and Ivy. Amber and Gary also run the live streaming for the church's worship services.
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Tyler Gajewsky
​Sanctuary Choir Director

Tyler Gajewsky began service as Music Director in September 2021. He is in his fourth year at the University of Northern Iowa, studying choral music education. Tyler is a Des Moines native, growing up in the Urbandale area and attending Urbandale High School where he found his passion for music. Tyler is a part of multiple choirs at UNI and other choirs outside of the school of music. Tyler is the music director of the Beta Nu chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a music fraternity at UNI, and also helps direct the UNI Community Children's Choir.

Linda Wiles
​Organist/Pianist

Linda Wiles has been performing at the piano since the age of 5.  She has degrees in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from Oklahoma Baptist University and Texas Women’s University. She is noted for her gifted accompanying and dynamic teaching style. In addition to operating private music studios in Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Nebraska, and Rhode Island, she has also taught collegiately and served churches as keyboard artist at piano and organ in Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and Iowa. Throughout her teaching and church music ministry career she has continued to perform as a solo and duo-keyboard artist as well as appearing with several symphony orchestras, including the Oklahoma City Symphony. Her varied performance repertoire ranges from classical to sacred and jazz to gospel. In recent years she has performed benefit concerts for Baptist Peacemakers of Rhode Island, Brother’s Keeper’s ministries of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island., and a variety of mission endeavors for local congregations. She maintains active participation with her home church, First Baptist Church in America, Providence, RI, and currently serves as the organist for First Presbyterian Church, Waterloo, Iowa.  

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