Gretchen Burns Bergman - A New Path (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing) / Moms United to End the War on Drugs - San Diego

I am a mother, daughter, sister, wife, dancer, fashion show producer, writer, and activist for therapeutic drug policy.

I danced professionally and taught jazz dance for 25 years in home studios and Grossmont College. In 1979, after years of choreographing shows and working as a model, I started Gretchen Productions, a fashion show production company specializing in large theatrical shows. I was a fashion editor at Décor and Style magazine for six years. In 1999, I co-founded and served as Executive Director of A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing), a non-profit advocacy organization, and have become a national speaker, writer, and leader in drug policy reform and the promotion of harm reduction strategies.

Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.

I was born and raised in Escondido, California, the middle of 2 sisters who are also lifetime soulmates and friends. My father came from Germany and worked on a coffee plantation for 14 years in Chiapas, Mexico, and my mother was from Chicago and worked as an interpreter for a newspaper in Mexico City, where they met and married. They moved to California to work and live on a large family-owned avocado ranch, where my childhood was filled with climbing trees, laughter, music, and outdoor adventures. I got married early and, after working and living in San Francisco for a few years, raised two boisterous but beautiful boys in the Mount Helix area, who took roads less traveled in their teens, leading to decades of addictive illness and long-term recovery. This journey took me and them on a new career path. Thirty years ago, I married David Bergman, my life partner, a prominent San Diego psychiatrist, now retired.

Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?

I have dual careers as I am Executive Director / Co-Founder of A New PATH, a 24-year-old non-profit organization. I also lead the national Moms United to End the War on Drugs collaborative campaign. My articles on therapeutic justice have been published nationwide, and, since 2014, we have been doing overdose prevention trainings, and Narcan distribution (a safe drug that can reverse an opioid overdose) in San Diego County. I am also the owner/director of Gretchen Productions, producing fashion show extravaganzas throughout the southwest. My non-profit fills my need to make positive and critically important changes in the way we perceive and handle substance use disorders, while my fashion show production company fills my need to bring artistic beauty and light into the world. I love that I work with other organizations with important missions and enjoy amplifying their work through fashion and entertainment, and I am grateful that together A New PATH and Gretchen Productions fill my creative soul and my drive to be a voice for change and protector of human rights and dignity.

Q: What advice would you give to people?

Follow your passion, be true to, and believe in, yourself.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?

Despite my age, I see myself dancing as long as my body allows; creating shows; advocating for humane drug policies; traveling with my husband, and enjoying my family.

COMMUNITY

Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?

I love restaurants with a view of the ocean, like Jakes, Pacifica Del Mar, and Il Fornaio

Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?

I am a native – born in Escondido. My community is both Rancho Santa Fe in North County, where I have lived for 30 years, and East County, where I raised my kids and continue to work at my second home office in Spring Valley.

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?

Elizabeth Cobbs is a dear friend, but also an accomplished college history professor with a compelling personal story and a bestselling author. Her latest novel is “Fearless Women: Feminist Patriots from Abigail Adams to Beyonce.”

Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?

There was a boutique in Rancho San Diego called Kelly’s Korner. We partnered on fashion shows to benefit PALS (People Against Leukemia) for years…very nostalgic memories.

Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?

I love San Diego County, from the mountains to the ocean. Within a day, you could horseback ride in the East County, play in the snow in the mountains, or enjoy splashing in the surf at one of our many beautiful beaches.

Q: If you could choose anyone alive today and not a relative, with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?

I have never been a person to take time out of a work day for lunch, but there are several friends I’d like to catch up with, including Geni Cavitt, Beverly Norriss, Rory Devine, and many others, but their lives are super busy as well. The Brigantine is an excellent place to have a glass of wine and talk and laugh together.

OTHER/FUN QUESTIONS

Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?

My husband and I watch a lot of streaming shows. We loved “Ted Lasso”. My favorite movie recently was “Women Talking”

Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?

People know me as a dancer, fashion show producer, advocate/ activist for compassionate drug policy, and fiercely loving mom and grandma, but what most people don’t know is that I developed a technique and, for years, taught hundreds of babies to swim (my sons could swim before they could walk). Also, what my friends know, but the public doesn’t, is that I love Cheetos and chocolate. Now they know…

Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?

I’m a biological grandmother for the first time. Baby Zyler, born 5/4/23, is a 10 out of 10, bringing our family immense joy.

Q: Who inspires you to be better?

My husband is an honest, intelligent, accomplished, and loving man. He is amazingly supportive but also challenges me to choose when to say “no” so that I can devote my energies to projects that create real change, and to take a broader view of the world past drug policy, dance, and fashion.

Q: Finally, what three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?

Heart, warmth, love