OUR ROOTS
We recognize that this is not the first iteration of Juneteenth in Santa Barbara. We thank our Ancestors, Elders, and Allies who came before us to celebrate this important day and we are humbled to take the baton and march forward to a Juneteenth Santa Barbara that is a fixture of our culture in Santa Barbara County. Engage with us at juneteenthsbc@gmail.com.
SIMONE RUSKAMP | FOUNDER
Simone Akila (she/her/her) is a Black woman who loves Black people. She is a co-founder of Juneteenth Santa Barbara as well as Healing Justice Santa Barbara. She has led successful campaigns to center de-escalation and affirmation of life in Santa Barbara police use of force policies, secure monies for mental health positions instead of additional funding for law enforcement, establish city and county institutional support for Black cultural events, and to designate sites of Black Santa Barbara history as historical landmarks to protect them from gentrification. She currently is one of the driving forces behind the forming police oversight commission in Santa Barbara, an organizing effort spanning over 4 years.
Simone Akila is a Masters of Social Work Student at Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington DC. She studies Afrocentric approaches to healing and therapy; and is the Vice President of Howard University's School of Social Work Student Council Association.
As the parent of a young child, Simone Akila affirms the radical work of mothering and believes that all are needed to create the communities we deserve.
CHIANY DRI | FOUNDER
Chiany Dri (she/her/hers) is a mixed race Black Latina, born and raised on Tongva land in Los Angeles, California. She is a mother of three, an organizer, justice worker and Founder of the Inclusion School. Chiany lived on Chumash land in Ventura County for 10 years, leading movement work for Black and brown communities in both Ventura County and Santa Barbara County. Her focus has been on engaging her communities in community-centered accountability practice, trauma informed practice, advocacy for mothers and caretakers, and campaigns against local hate crimes. She has served her communities as an anti-racism consultant and as a curriculum developer and educator with The Girls Empowerment Workshop, where she has trained and taught hundreds of educators and youth on anti-racism concepts and advocacy since 2017. Chiany is the co-founder of the Ojai Alliance for Education Equity and a co-founder of Juneteenth Santa Barbara. In 2020, Chiany self-published her first book, The Little Guide to Anti Racism.
JORDAN KILLEBREW | FOUNDER
Jordan Killebrew has an abnormal love of community. He is the SBCC Executive Director, Public Affairs & Communications, and previously served as Santa Barbara County District 2 Representative, working with County Supervisor Laura Capps and at the Santa Barbara Foundation in the capacity of Director of Communications, which his work resembled his passion for strategy, public relations, and relationship building. As a University of California, Santa Barbara graduate, he revels in the pride of being a Gaucho and the opportunity to serve his community by volunteering with local nonprofits and organizations. Learn more about Jordan at JordanKillebrew.com.