Second District County Supervisor-elect Laura Capps hs announced her incoming policy and constituent services staff appointments. Chris Henson will serve as chief of staff, Daniela Aguirre as district representative/scheduler, and Jordan Killebrew as district representative/communications director.
“I’m excited to begin working alongside this public service dream team to tackle the most urgent and vexing issues impacting our quality of life, including poverty, housing, homelessness, drought and climate change, mental and public health, economic development and public safety,” Capps said.
“I’m proud of this team that will bring experience, new energy and diverse perspectives to support the collective needs of the county and the communities of the Second District,” she said.
“Supervisor [Gregg] Hart has effectively represented the South Coast for nearly 20 years and I am grateful for how he has helped prepare me for the job,” Capps said. “We look forward to continuing his impactful and conscientious work.”
Henson currently serves as the chief of staff to Hart. Henson is a trusted advisor with decades of legislative and policy experience. He has previously served as the district chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal and chief of staff to former Third District County Supervisor Doreen Farr.
Henson has been instrumental in working with constituents, stakeholders, and county departments to deliver necessary services and critical needs in Santa Barbara County for the past 20 years. He began his public service career with former U.S. Rep. Lois Capps in 2001.
Aguirre previously worked in Assemblymember Steve Bennett’s office, where she assisted on a variety of issues including housing and homelessness, tax and revenue, women’s issues and underserved communities.
She is one of the founders of the Mujeres Makers Market, a pop-up at the historic El Presidio in Santa Barbara spotlighting local vendors and women of color who sell a variety of artisanal goods.
Aguirre has had a jumpstart in her new role by recently joining Hart’s office as district representative/scheduler. She received her bachelor of arts in economics from California State University, Northridge, and is in her first year of law school at the Santa Barbara College of Law.
Killebrew will be joining the team after serving almost seven years as the communications director for the Santa Barbara Foundation, where he worked to further the organization’s mission to build resilient and inclusive communities in Santa Barbara County.
Killebrew brings experience in community engagement to the office having most recently served as a commissioner for the city of Santa Barbara’s Community Formation Commission, which looked at issues of police conduct and oversight, and as co-founder of Juneteenth Santa Barbara, an annual event to celebrate the freedom of enslaved African Americans in the U.S.
A graduate of UCSB, Killebrew founded Project Isla Vista Love, which helped to create the Isla Vista Love and Remembrance Garden in memory of the student lives lost in the aftermath of the 2014 mass shooting in Isla Vista.
Capps won election in June to succeed Hart who successfully ran for the newly redrawn 37th Assembly District. The Second District includes portions of the cities of Goleta and Santa Barbara, as well as Isla Vista, UCSB, Hope Ranch and the unincorporated eastern Goleta Valley. Find the district map here.