NYE The Big 40 Birthday Style

Our Publisher, Brandi Rivera, started working with the Independent in 2008. She held a few different roles with us as CFO and Business Manager, but in 2017 she became our first ever female Publisher. Out in the community or behind the scenes at the office, Brandi knows and loves Santa Barbara since her start here at UCSB.

For Brandi, she feels like it is her duty to preserve the role of the Independent in the community for years to come. And for her, the staff is one big family to add to her own! In January 2018 she and her husband Victor welcomed their first son, Elijah into the world followed by twins Amaya & William in 2022. 

And to start 2024 off with a bang, Brandi celebrated her 40th birthday with close family, great friends, and the community alike on New Year’s Eve at SOhO! Ringing in a prosperous New Year with them, especially those who traveled in to see her, made her birthday feel extra special this year.

Though Brandi went big for her birthday this year, she usually enjoys smaller, more relaxed lunches with family and friends, and she explained more in the interview below.

What was your favorite way to relax over the holidays? Do you get an extra break since it’s close to your birthday?

With three young kids I wouldn’t use the word relaxing to describe my holidays. My family definitely makes sure that I feel special on my birthday though, this year I went to brunch sans kids. This holiday break I spent an afternoon walking around the botanic garden and another day walking around the UCSB campus lagoon. Those were both recharging activities.

What did you get up to for the holidays?

Holidays are a big travel time for me. We were in Southern California for a few days. Lots of family time, watching sports, and lots of good food. We also enjoyed watching the kids play with all of their new toys. With my twins just turning 18 months we try not to overextend ourselves on family outings but we did make sure to get out and get a family pic with Santa.

 How long have you been in Santa Barbara? What are a few local spots you think are worth frequenting?

I’ve now spent more than half my life in Santa Barbara and many different versions of myself from recent college grad to my current era of working mama so I’d take up this whole space with the local spots but a few I frequented in the last month or so that I shared with visitors from out of town… Arnoldi’s for my father in law’s birthday, M. Special for a friend’s birthday, caught some football at Brass Bear, a stop into Satellite Wine Bar while doing some downtown shopping. Plus you can’t miss the Tom Kha special from Empty Bowl in the public market and some pizza and more football at Institution Ale. Like I said, the holidays were a lot of football, food, and family.

As the Independent’s Publisher, what has been the best thing about your position this past year?
I have now been Publisher for six years but with the Independent for over 15 years. I don’t feel old enough for either of those to be true but they are. As Publisher I get to work with so many talented people so that is the best thing every year but more specific to 2023 is that I feel like the importance of local journalism has risen in the collective consciousness of our community. At the Independent we all work, day in and day out, to tell the stories of our community and I go into the New Year not only feeling appreciated by our community but excited about our opportunity to continue to do this work.