OUr Staff

Rev. Katie Gooch

Director

Rev. Katie B. Gooch (she/her) is the Director and Campus Minister of The Pace Center. She is an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church and has a passion for setting the stage for relationships and community to thrive. Prior to Pace, Katie B. served as the Executive Pastor of Reveille United Methodist Church. During seminary, she served as a hospital chaplain at Duke University and as a pastor in both Durham and Mamers, North Carolina. In an earlier life, Katie B. was a communications consultant in Washington D.C. and a Division I field hockey player. She is originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma but has grown to love Richmond!

Rev. Russ Kerr

Student Engagement Coordinator

Russ Kerr (last name, “car”) (he/him) serves as the Student Development and Engagement Coordinator. He is an ordained P.C.(USA) teaching elder (minister). He has served congregations in North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. He is a graduate of Emory & Henry College and Union Presbyterian Seminary. His first degree (and love) was theatre. He is passionate about community building, storytelling, and unlocking creativity. On the weekends you can find him somewhere outdoors and/or with a good book in his hand.

Shannon O'Neill

Manager of Community Engagement & Advancement

Shannon O’Neill (she/her) is the manager of community engagement and advancement at Pace, helping build meaningful relationships with students, volunteers, churches and donors and helping with communications and events. Shannon earned her MFA in Fiction at VCU, an MA in Film Studies from the University College Dublin, Ireland and a BA in English from the University of Michigan. Along the way, she uncovered a talent for organizing people who are passionate about their creative endeavors. Always appreciative of the impact community organizations have on those who find themselves in need of connection, there are few things she enjoys more than learning about others, and helping them feel less alone. She is also a grief educator and the director of Richmond Story House, a nonprofit rooted in the belief that we all have stories to tell, and our individual and collective
stories matter.