David Barocio

Born in Los Angeles, CA, David began his early dance training with Anaheim Ballet and received scholarships to train at San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, Los Angeles Classical Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre. David performed with Eugene Ballet before joining Oklahoma City Ballet in 2008. In 2011, he was invited to perform with Amy Seiwert’s Imagery and the National Choreographers Initiative, while also enjoying a robust freelance career that included opportunities to perform in France, South America, and throughout the United States. In 2012, after a career-ending injury, he joined the Oklahoma City Ballet development team, where he rose through the ranks and was named Operations Manager in 2017.

David joined the University of Oklahoma Foundation in 2018 and served as Executive Director of Advancement for Fine Arts, leading a team focused on generating sustainable and transformational support for students, faculty, and arts programs at the University of Oklahoma. In this role, he helped more than triple the five-year average of contributed revenue, generated over $20M in direct support, and played a key role in expanding the development team.

Today, David serves as Senior Director of Principal Gifts at the University of Oklahoma Foundation, where he secures transformational philanthropic support for the University. In his current role, he has raised an additional $25M, bringing his total generated support since joining the OU Foundation to more than $45M.

A proud graduate of the University of Oklahoma, David received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet Performance and a Master of Business Administration. In 2022, David was named the Outstanding Fundraising Professional in Oklahoma by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He has also received the Million Maker Award from the OU Foundation, along with other awards and accolades.