Six months in, new planning director hopes to do his part for Dartmouth

When it comes to understanding the layout and rhythm of Dartmouth, new Planning Director Dan Gioiosa has more than a professional perspective as for much of his life, he’s lived it.

“I know the area pretty well from having been here so long,” he said. “So I got a good background on most projects that are going on in town.”

A longtime Dartmouth resident with a background in civil engineering, Gioiosa brings both technical knowledge and a personal connection to the community. In December, the Planning Board offered him the position, which had been open since Christine O’Grady resigned in July 2024.

Born in New Bedford, Gioiosa moved to Dartmouth in the fifth grade, briefly returned to New Bedford as a young adult, before returning for good. He graduated from UMass Dartmouth in 1998 with a degree in civil engineering.

He said while engineering has always been a part of his life, with his father being an engineer who he started out his career with, what drew him to planning was the opportunity to shape the future.

“Engineering is more addressing things as they're being constructed. This allows the opportunity to have more of an input on the perspective like … what do we want to see going forward?”

Gioiosa later worked for the Dartmouth Department of Public Works, which he said gave him valuable insight.

“It was a good experience. It was nice seeing engineering from a different perspective,” he said. “It helps you get a bit of a gauge of what people deal with when they're in the field. Make sure things that are important to actually construct projects are clearly identified on plans.”

Now in the town’s top planning role, Gioiosa said the transition has been busy but rewarding.

“I've enjoyed it. It's been a lot to digest and a lot to take in,” he said. “It's been nice to do deep dives on some of these issues and hopefully be able to plan for the town in the future.”

Gioiosa credited Assistant Planning Director Ross Cuddy for helping him adjust to the position.

Outside of the office, Gioiosa is a family man and active community member. His wife has been a teacher at Quinn Elementary for 23 years, and the couple’s daughters — now 20 and 23 — went through Dartmouth’s public schools. He and his wife spent many years coaching youth sports in town, from softball and volleyball to soccer, which brought the family all over the country for tournaments.

Now that his daughters are older, he said he’s looking forward to a new chapter.

“I'm kind of at the transition stage, so hopefully being able to do a little more traveling with my wife and being able to experience a few things that we haven't had a chance to do — every weekend out on the sporting fields.”

As a longtime resident, Gioiosa said Dartmouth’s thoughtful layout is one of the things he appreciates most.

“I like the different aspects of it,” he said. “I live up off Reed Road, so I'm in more of a country setting out there, but if I need to go to the grocery store, if I need to go shopping, it's a short drive. The town's been very well planned out to have those commercial areas separate from the residential areas.”

“Obviously, it is a nice coastal town. You have nice beaches. There's good youth programs … So it was great to raise the kids — great schools. Even if my wife wasn't teaching, I'd still say we have great schools.”

And if you ever find yourself in a trivia match with Gioiosa, beware: he’s a self-proclaimed reservoir of “useless” pop culture knowledge, especially when it comes to TV and movies. His interests range from the original “Star Wars” films of his childhood to the Marvel movies he watches with his daughter.

In his new role, Gioiosa said he’s excited to help guide Dartmouth’s growth while honoring what makes the town special.

“Hopefully I can put my small part into that,” he said.