Trisha Gooch, a former professional singer with long experience in nonprofits, is the new executive director of San Diego Dance Theater — the group behind “Trolley Dances.”
The Board of Directors of Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater made the announcement last week, but Gooch has been on the job since May 14. She takes over from Sara K. Blodgett and interim executive director Laurie Madigan.
A theater representative said Tuesday that Blodgett has become managing director of Carlsbad Performing Arts Academy but is staying on with SDDT for now as grants and outreach coordinator.
Gooch — with 17 years of fundraising, marketing communications, strategic planning, nonprofit management and leadership experience — said in a statement: “Throughout my career in the nonprofit world, I have always found ways to stay connected to my arts background, serving on the board of directors of A Reason To Survive and singing with Sorelle, a local women’s chorus.”
She also serves as board secretary for the Voices of Our City Choir, the famed group of homeless San Diegans.
“I am overjoyed to return to my arts roots to serve the dancers and audiences of San Diego Dance Theater,” Gooch said.
She comes to SDDT from Second Chance, where she was the vice president of advancement for over six years.
At Second Chance, Gooch created the signature event, Orange is the New Black. and led a staff of four in the creation of numerous giving programs, including Giving Tuesday’s successful Bail Me Out campaign, LawSuits, GEM (Give Every Month), and the $599 Club.
Before Second Chance, she served as director of development for the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank for 3 1/2 years. She also worked in San Diego for Mainly Mozart and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Gooch began her nonprofit career on the East Coast, working for the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey for over three years.
For the last 10 years, she has worked primarily with nonprofit human service organizations, but her first career was as a professional singer and actress.
She counts the national tour of “Les Miserables,” where she understudied and performed the role of Fantine, and “The Who’s Tommy” at the La Jolla Playhouse as two of her “favorite gigs.”
Her performing career also included on-camera commercials and radio and TV jingles and voice-overs. Gooch holds a BA in writing and editing from the City University of New York.
Said Madigan, now SDDT board president-elect: “We are excited to welcome Trisha to our team at San Diego Dance Theater. She brings a wealth of practical nonprofit management and fundraising experience and the unique quality of knowing the needs of an arts organization from the inside. Our organization is poised to grow and prosper under her leadership.”
Founded in 1972, Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater contributes to community art by offering site-specific events.
Isaacs created “Trolley Dances” in 1999, providing professional dance performances at multiple trolley stops for two weekends in the fall.
Updated at 11:50 a.m. May 28, 2019
