Julissa Peña

Julissa is the Executive Director of the County Immigrant Legal Defense Center. She also serves on the Center for Refugee and Gender Studies Immigration Advocates Network and is a member of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network. Julissa is associated with the Fund for Santa Barbara, the Santa Barbara Foundation, and the Hutton Parker Foundation.

Bringing her skills and connections with the undocumented community to PSHH, she is passionate about working with vulnerable communities and has broad experience advocating for incarcerated individuals and youth. Her work in academia has seen contributions to Westmont College, University of California at Santa Barbara, and the University of Denver. Having joined the Board in 2020, Julissa strengthens our work as a Community Housing Development Organization.