Goodsell is an attorney with an office in New Hyde Park. His wife, Patricia, graduated from Herricks High School as did his oldest son Brian, now a junior at Alfred University. Sons Andrew and Patrick presently attend Herricks High School. He graduated from St. John's University School of Law. While in law school, he participated as a law clerk in the prosecution of Dr. Jeffrey McDonald, who was convicted of murdering his family and was depicted in the book and movie Fatal Vision. Goodsell has served as an assistant district attorney in Kings County, Brooklyn. He has specialized in complex tort litigation trying numerous medical malpractice and product liability cases as a partner in a Suffolk County law firm before joining his wife as a partner in their general practice law firm.

Presently, Goodsell serves as a member of the Town of North Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals, a trustee of the Herricks Community Fund and chairman of the advisory board of Island Harvest, a non-profit food rescue organization. He also serves as legal advisor to several community groups. He is a past president of the Greater New Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce and a past board member of the North Hempstead Community Development Agency.

During the school year 2002-03, Goodsell represented a group of local citizens who challenged the then Herricks Board of Education in the movement of the administrative staff to the Community Center. Attempts to settle the matter without a lawsuit were rebuffed by the board of education. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the citizens who challenged the board by holding that the board did not follow state law in the manner in which it proceeded to rent out the administration building. "The lawsuit," Goodsell explained, "pointed out the need of a school board to carefully examine all options and to follow the requirements of the law. I believe the present board has taken positive steps in that direction. Further, I believe my background and experiences will assist me to make positive contributions to represent the varied interests of this district."