Kaisa Goodman is the Public Engagement Director for the City of Bloomington, where she previously held the roles of Mayor’s Chief of Staff and Special Projects Manager for Department of Economic & Sustainable Development. She is a proud graduate of Hoosier Women Forward and was elected by her classmates to serve as the Class 2 Alumni Board Member before being elected as a regular board member. Kaisa also serves as a Board Member for the Eugene V. Debs Foundation, a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Monroe County CASA, and a strategist on a variety of political campaigns.
Kaisa’s political career is rooted in organized labor: even as a child, she attended the annual Eugene V. Debs dinner in Terre Haute. While an employee at Bloomingfoods Market & Deli, she was a leader in the employees’ successful efforts to unionize. Kaisa helped negotiate their initial contract using Interest Based Bargaining, a collaborative and issue-focused approach to negotiations, after becoming certified by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Interest Based Problem Solving. She later served as a union steward with UFCW Local 700.
Kaisa is a recipient of the Women Excel Bloomington Award and the Ten under 40 Award, both from the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. She served as the inaugural Executive Director for the Monroe County Democratic Party and managed the successful reelection campaign of Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton. Kaisa is a graduate of the Indiana Democratic Party Emerging Leaders Project and was previously on the board of Democracy for Monroe County.
Kaisa holds a BA from Indiana University in Environmental & Sustainability Studies. A native Hooiser, she resides in Bloomington with her husband, Nico; stepson, Oliver; and cat, Rogue.