Gabrielle Gould to Step Down as Executive Director of Amherst BID

AMHERST — Gabrielle Gould, executive director of the Amherst Business Improvement District (BID) and the Downtown Amherst Foundation (DAF), announced she will be stepping down from her position at the BID to form a consulting business. She will continue in a leadership capacity for the DAF and its management of the Drake, the live performance venue in downtown Amherst. Her final day at the BID will be Feb. 22.

“The BID board is forever indebted to Gabrielle for her ideas, energy, and integrity,” said Barry Roberts, board president of the BID. “She has changed the discussion about downtown, and her leadership has been a model for BID directors throughout the Commonwealth. We wish her well.”

Appointed executive director in August 2019, Gould’s four-plus years at the helm of the organization have been filled with notable successes, including strengthening the BID’s relationship with town government and institutional partners, teaming with the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce on COVID relief for small businesses, producing signature downtown events like the Sip & Shop Stroll and Makers Market holiday event and Fire & Ice, and conceiving and launching the Drake, the downtown’s first-ever live performance venue.

In recognition of their efforts, Gould and Claudia Pazmany, the chamber’s executive director, were named Difference Makers by BusinessWest in 2023.

“I’ve walked into the office each day with passion, excitement, and a million ideas on how to make downtown Amherst a vibrant, beautiful, and destination-worthy town for all to experience and enjoy,” Gould said. “The BID and downtown Amherst are in a great place, and I feel that now is the perfect time for me to transition to a new chapter in my career.”

A search for Gould’s successor will commence in the coming weeks, Roberts said.