Meet the Team

Keiana Daniel

Student Success Coordinator; Co-Advisor of BSU 

Keiana Daniel is a valued member of the El Camino College staff, who has served the institution in a number of capacities. She is currently the Coordinator of the new Black Student Success Center, supporting the academic, personal, and professional goals of Black students. Throughout her time working at El Camino College, she has made impactful contributions, including: the first ever ECC Foster Youth Awareness Month; the Black ECC Expo; and the development of the Black Student Success Center. She has also worked with: Outreach and School Relations, Umoja/Project Success, Puente, MANA, Financial Aid/Basic Needs, FYE, EOPS/CARE, CalWORKs, and Guardian Scholars, and various faculty.

Keiana’s priority has been to advocate for and create a space where Black students feel both safe and seen. The services embedded in the Black Student Success Center have made this new space a one stop shop for Black Students where they can receive and provide tutoring and mentorship from other peers. Students who utilize the space have access to food, counseling services, mental health services, opportunities to engage and connect with the broader Black community, and so much more.  

Keiana earned a master’s of Education Counseling from San Diego State University, a master's degree in Linguistics at Cal State University, Long Beach and a bachelor's degree in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. Off campus, Keiana enjoys playing competitive roller derby, camping and hiking in the California wilderness, and reading historical fiction. 

Chris Hurd, Student Equity & Achievement Counselor

Co-Advisor of BSU 

Chris Hurd received an AA in Liberal Arts from Santa Monica College, transferred to University of California, Los Angeles and earned a BA in Sociology. He earned a Master of Arts in Counseling from Loyola Marymount University.

Prior to coming to El Camino College as a Counselor, Chris spent nearly a decade in K-12 mostly as a College Counselor and High School Administrator. Most recently, Chris was the Director of Programs for Southern California at an educational nonprofit named CollegeSpring.

Counseling really chose me more so than me choosing it. While attending Santa Monica College, my experiences with my counselors Sherri Bradford and Cassandra Patillo in the Black Collegians Program had a profound impact on my life trajectory. Their encouragement as well as their willingness to consistently challenge me to push harder and strive to be better really made me want more for myself. That experience has driven me to want to provide that same sort of support for our students as I know what kind of impact it can have. If I could encourage a student to do anything, it would be to embrace the struggle. The focus needs to be on reaching the ultimate goal, if it takes a day, a week, multiple years, it is worth the effort. Take advantage of the resources. Advocate for yourself as no one should have more interest in your success than you.

Chidi Agu

Counselor

I have been helping people reach their academic goals for nearly a decade and love the work that I get to do. My unique experiences throughout higher education have included me starting college across the country, dropping out, transferring from Mt. San Antonio College, graduating summa cum laude from UC Santa Barbara with degrees in psychology and sociology, studying public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, and most recently, receiving my master's in education counseling from San Diego State University. I believe everyone has a story worth listening to and that students too often blame themselves (or are blamed by others) for systemic failings. Working with Black students is sacred work and I'm grateful for it every day.

Outside of work, I love bike riding, creative writing, philosophy, vegan food, sitcoms, video games, and basketball -- Go Lakers!

Dr. Autumn Blakley

Counselor

My name is Dr. Autumn Blakley, and I am thrilled to be aligned with the intentional commitment to Black student success at El Camino College. A little about me... Before joining the BSSC at El Camino College, I was a professor of Counseling Education at Loyola Marymount University and CSU Long Beach. Throughout my career, I have had a focused interest in the promotion of social justice and racial equity in higher education that has driven my passion to introduce innovative programming and policies that are directed at unraveling institutional barriers as well as providing equitable avenues for success for marginalized student populations at several institutions, including CSU Dominguez Hills where I received a BA in Sociology. Additionally, I received my Master of Arts in Counseling from Loyola Marymount University and my Doctorate in Educational Leadership from California State University, Long Beach. My research is centered on the sense of belonging of Black female undergraduates attending Hispanic-serving institutions as well as the furtherance of the visibility Black women in academic and professional spaces. I am eager and excited to work with our students here at ECC as well as advance our mission of equity and justice throughout the campus. Some personal passions of mine are the theater, Greek Mythology, politics, and extensive reading. All of which I am ready to share with you all!