Kareen Louis serves as the Assistant Director of the Office of Black Student Development since its inauguration in 2020. As the Assistant Director, she takes on a leadership role in supporting the mission and vision of OBSD. Building upon her knowledge of Black student development, critical race theory, multicultural identity and intersectionality, Kareen leads the advocacy, outreach, and education efforts of the department to create an identity affirming experience for Black students, staff, and faculty within UC Santa Barbara. Prior to her role as Assistant Director of OBSD Kareen served as the Counselor and Coordinator of the African diasporic Cultural Resource Center in EOP for 2 years where she provided counseling and programmatic services to respond to the needs and concerns of Black students. Her additional career experiences include working in residence life, career services, and admissions. Kareen is an alumna of Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey where she received a BA in Public Administration with a minor in Black Studies and M.Ed in College Student Affairs, also from Rutgers University. Both in her personal and professional life Kareen believes deeply in the value of community and as such is involved in various community organizations including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, Santa Barbara Young Black Professionals, and Ndugu & Nzinga (an African Rites of passage organization in New York). In her free time, Kareen enjoys african dancing and drumming, hiking and spending quality time with family, friends, and loved ones.