Ellen Goodman comes across as upbeat, confident and just plain comfortable in her own skin. This stems, in part, from her upbringing in Baltimore.
“I grew up in a time when there was a lot of change in the world,” she said. “It was the ’60s and ’70s, when there were enough guardrails, and also enough freedom, so that I could really express myself as a kid.”
Goodman cherishes her childhood memories of Baltimore, and goes back every year to visit friends—and eat Maryland crab.
While a teen, Goodman got to hang out on the periphery of filmmaker John Waters. She had the best of both worlds—middle-class family protections, and the excitement of being around the avant-garde film community.
At the age of 16, when Goodman announced that she wanted to be a hairdresser., her mother’s response was: “Huh?”
“There wasn’t pressure on me to do something traditional like become an accountant. My family didn’t follow the norms,” she said. “I come from a line of entrepreneurs. My grandparents were grocers; my father was in retail and in the service business. I felt like I had this opportunity to be anything I wanted.”
After graduating from high school, she went to visit her sister at George Washington University—and fell in love with Washington, D.C. She knew she wanted to spend a lot of time there.
“It literally gave me everything I needed to know to round out my understanding of the world, the domestic U.S., myself and my community,” she said.
Goodman did end up going into the beauty industry, but she’s never cut hair in her life. Instead, after some college and trade-school studies, Goodman went into the business end of things.
“I was able to cut my teeth on how this beauty industry is run inside stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord and Taylor, and Neiman Marcus, in Chevy Chase, Md.,” she said.
Later, Goodman was picked up by a franchise company called I Natural Cosmetics. This was in the ’80s, when it was popular for women to go to malls to get their hair done, a manicure, etc.
“I spent my 20s on the crest of that wave of that mall business. I learned so much about business development, business expansion, startups and large lease negotiations,” she said. “I became their national training director, and later had my own franchise.”
Not only is the beauty industry lucrative; the human side of it was eye-opening as well.
“It was great to know that we could give folks a step up in how they saw themselves—how their confidence, self-esteem, health and well-being increased through these products,” she said, adding that focusing on the humanitarian side, rather than the number of products one could sell, was the key to her success.
In the mid ’80s, Goodman started volunteering on a crisis hotline for a free health clinic in Washington, D.C. After each three-hour stint, Goodman would emerge into the outside world, and feel as though her stresses had been washed away.
“During those three hours, Ellen went away—I was totally connected to whoever I was speaking with on the phone, and that was so rewarding to me,” she said.
In the early ’90s, after years of volunteering, Goodman decided to make a career switch to public service. HIV and AIDS were raging at that time, and though gay men were starting to advocate for themselves, other communities—African Americans, women and intravenous drug users—needed help. Goodman stepped up and took a job with the National Minority AIDS Council.
Several years of that was both physically and emotionally exhausting. Several years later, Goodman decided it was time to leave D.C. She agreed to sublet a friend’s flat in San Francisco for a few months—and ended up staying for 15 years.
She began running the San Francisco office for Variety Children’s Charity. Later, she moved to an organization called Playworks, which works with schools to end bullying, encourage inclusion, and support free and organized play with an adult coach on the playground.
Though she enjoyed her work in San Francisco, Goodman said she knew she wouldn’t stay there.
“It felt very compartmentalized, very disenfranchised, unlike Washington, D.C, where there was a movement—everyone there wanted the same thing, a better life,” she said. “There didn’t seem to be that fire-in-the-belly feeling.”
In 2013, Goodman was looking at New York and Miami for something new.
The Foundation raises money for unfunded and underfunded programs and projects at the Palm Springs Unified School District—things taxpayer and government dollars do not cover.
“Though I had visited Palm Springs a few times, it wasn’t really on my radar,” she said. “I was here with my sister, and she found the position with the Palm Springs Unified School District. The Foundation was looking for its first executive director. I applied, was blessed to be chosen, and got to hit the ground running.”
The Foundation does something that’s more important than ever these days: It raises money for unfunded and underfunded programs and projects at the Palm Springs Unified School District—things taxpayer and government dollars do not cover. How does Goodman stay positive with all the huge cuts to school funding lately?
“I’m basically a positive person,” she said. “And all that time I spent in D.C., working with several different administrations: You strengthen that fire in the belly. You just learn how to keep pushing forward.”
Goodman said she’d advise younger people to take their time while finding their paths in life.
“I’d advise them to enjoy their early 20s—don’t feel pressured. Just have lots of different experiences, and see what excites them,” she said.
When she’s not working, Goodman enjoys dancing, seeing movies with friends, pickleball, paint by numbers, and hanging out with Bianca, her partner of 22 years, and her dog, Robbie.
As for her personal bucket list, Goodman said: “I really want to horseback ride across Mongolia!” She’s done a lot of travel in Asia, and said the beauty, the land and the culture of Mongolia all appeal to her.
Goodman’s idea of the perfect day off? “Staying home. Doing absolutely NOTHING,” she said. “And I want to make sure I have a nap.”
Bonnie Gilgallon has written theater reviews for the Independent since 2013. She hosts a digital interview show, The Desert Scene, which can be heard on www.thedesertscene.com and viewed on Mutual Broadcasting’s YouTube channel. Learn more at bonnie-g.com.