As the Brigade Commander, Kaila Stolz spearheads the brigade staff and guides the vision of the SDUSD Joint Brigade. She is responsible for working with all fourteen units in order to assist them towards their long-term goals and preserve a direct flow of information regarding brigade events. Stolz previously served as her Battalion’s Command Sergeant Major and Delta Company 1SG. In JROTC, she has dedicated herself to various teams such as Raiders (YPF), Regulation, Ten-Man Armed Exhibition, Four-Man Armed Exhibition, and Four-Man Unarmed Exhibition. In her sophomore year, Stolz placed 1st for Best Drilled Individual (LET 2). This year, she hopes to serve as a “Cadet Instructor” in passion of teaching academic classroom days to incoming LET 1’s. 

Although she has dedicated notable time to JROTC, Stolz founded her school’s Dance Team and is the Main Choreographer & Captain. The team is “student-led” and has recently developed a competitive group in addition to its recreational performances, where they intend to compete at West Coast Elite (WCE) regionals and state for the first time. At home, she is working to be a self-published author and is currently in the process of uploading her first manuscript. In her free time, she keeps active at her local exercise facility. In the future, Stolz aspires to enlist or commission through ROTC before furthering her education at a four year university in legal studies and philosophy.

As the Joint Brigade Cadet Senior Enlisted Adviser (SEA) or Staff Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge (SNCOIC), Cadet Sergeant Major Dawson Daniels holds the highest enlisted rank in all of JROTC. He advises the Brigade Commander with the vision of the program and is directly responsible for the execution of that vision and morale of the district. He delivers any necessary advice, answers, and leads the Honor Guard for Cadet Ball. In his unit, Daniels first served as a Cadet Corporal Squad leader before rising through the Non Commissioned Officer ranks. He previously held Cadet Sergeant, Cadet Gunnery Sergeant, Cadet First Sergeant, and now holds Cadet Sergeant Major. With his ranks and authority, he previously served as the Battalion Cadet Color Sergeant, the Armed Drill or Armed Regulation Platoon Sergeant, and was later promoted to Platoon Commander after the previous commander had graduated. Daniels wishes to commit to a four year college to commission as an Officer in the United States Marine Corps as a 2nd Lieutenant (Motivation).

As the SDUSD Brigade XO, Samantha Dagdag is second-in-command to the Commanding Officer and is responsible for keeping the Joint Brigade Staff coordinated in order to ensure success within their staff operations. In order to perform proper planning of Brigade events, Dagdag manages the staff’s actions and do-outs in coordination of the annual operational planning calendar. Within her unit, Dagdag is a four-year member of the Unarmed Fancy Drill Team and was previously the team commander her junior year. As team commander, she was able to achieve overall sweepstakes at the Golden Bear West Coast Nationals, placing first in numerous categories as well as Outstanding Commander. In addition, she was previously part of her Unit’s Wing Staff as the Training and Development officer (A6), in charge of handling cadet documents and getting the opportunity to teach one-on-one development lessons to cadets. This year, she has been selected as the Mira Mesa High School AFJROTC Unit CA-936’s Wing Commander, leading a team of 12 senior staff members to oversee operations for over 175 cadets. Outside of JROTC, Dagdag takes a liking to the Engineering field, participating in internships and hands-on opportunities to further her scope in the field. Following high school, Dagdag hopes to receive an appointment to the Air Force Academy or UCSD to major in Civil Engineering. 

As the Brigade J-1 Personnel Officer, Edward Owen Koijane is responsible for both recording scores at brigade competitions and managing cadets’ awards and promotions within the brigade. He is also responsible for writing quality questions for the Brigade Academic Bowl tournament, as well as administering it and all other competitions. Coming out of quarantine, Owen has placed in 1st year color guard, helped his team place in archery, as well as having placed in best drilled squad all during his first year of JROTC. Additionally, he has served on his Battalion’s staff as Logistics Officer and is now his school’s Executive Officer. Owen has performed in more than 15 color guard events, as it shows as being his most favorite type of drill. Outside of JROTC, Owen maintains a weighted GPA higher than 4.0 and has participated in swim team before joining his school’s tennis team. After graduation, he hopes to attend college and pursue a degree in Particle Physics alongside a minor in Military Science to one day apply his scientific knowledge in the Military field. 

As the Brigade’s Intelligence Officer, Shanelle Pulido is in charge of assessing risk factors while making and managing risk assessments for Brigade events. She takes account of the factors in safety and applies counter measures to encourage smooth event flow. Secondarily, Pulido is responsible for finding scholarships and other beneficial intel while making them easily accessible to the San Diego Unified Joint Brigade. In prior years, she previously held the position of Battalion S2 (Intelligence & Security), Command Sergeant Major (SNCOIC), and Executive Officer. She has been involved in her unit’s teams such as Unarmed Drill, YPF, Academic League, Platoon Regulation, and currently captains the 4 Man Unarmed Drill team, Academic League, and Platoon Regulation team. For honors, she has received the superior cadet medal for 3 years in a row. Outside of JROTC, Pulido enjoys cooking and cosmetology as hobbies. She is involved in her class club, holds the Vice President position of the Military Science club, and is in FACES for the Future club. After High School, Pulido hopes to study orthodontics in the military.

As the Brigade J-3 Officer, Jakob Gruenberg is responsible for operational standards during Brigade events and devising their development. He is responsible for the completion of every OPORD for all SDUSD schools to analyze, which would be event details and their sequences. He reviews the previous years’ After Action Reports (AARs) with the goal to continuously improve and enhance the cadet experience, including that of the Joint Brigade Staff. In his NJROTC program, he is the N6 Information and Systems Officer and Cyberpatriots Team Commander. Prior to his current position, Jakob served as the N3 Operations Officer and Platoon Leader. He is a member of his school's Debate club and the President of his school's Mock Trial club. Currently, Jakob is working on founding an environmental club at his school. He is also an intern for the Northrop Grumman HIP program. In the future, he plans to attend a 4 year university to study Nuclear Engineering and/or Cybersecurity.

As the J4 Logistics Officer, c/Lt Col Elliot Mell is in charge of all uniform items and equipment that the brigade handles. Working with MSG Duronio, he distributes brigade awards, sets up drill pads, and ensures all units have necessary uniform items. Elliot is also the Logistics Commander at Scripps Ranch High School Air Force JROTC, where he manages more than 20 logistics representatives and staff members to coordinate all unit uniform and award distributions. He is an active member of the color guard team and served as the non-commissioned officer in charge last year, claiming multiple high placings for the team. Outside of JROTC, Elliot has previously competed on the Scripps Ranch High School golf team and is a regular blood donor. After high school, Elliot hopes to attend a Federal Service Academy and earn a commission in the United States Coast Guard.

As the J-5 Public Affairs Officer, Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Song-Yeon “Song” Kang is responsible for designing and producing all the newsletters that the Brigade releases. In addition to the newsletters, she is responsible for taking pictures at Brigade events as well as updating the Brigade instagram. She makes sure that the Brigade’s online and physical presence is always up to date. Song is also the Public Affairs Commander for the Scripps Ranch Air Force JROTC as a member of the Senior Staff where she runs a team to capture events, write newsletters, create videos, and manage the school’s website. In her own JROTC, Song has also been the Non-Commissioned Officer and Officer in Charge of Technology within the Public Affairs squadron, a member of the Saber Fancy Drill Team, and a Kitty Hawk Air Society Tutor. Outside of JROTC, Song has participated in six years of Taekwondo and earned her black belt as well as the President’s Volunteer Service Award. She also enjoys creating art and hopes to attend a four-year college with a focus on developing her creative skills.

As the J6 IT or Cyber Officer, Hank Kostrinsky runs and updates the Joint Brigade Website. He is responsible for the management pertained to all technical platforms and electronic documents that are connected to the Brigade Google Drive. He transfers all data by archive to ensure the account is prosperous for years to come in storage along with the marking and organizing of documents by year and relevance. Although he has not outwardly served large roles in his Battalion, he intends to ensure that the Brigade runs as efficiently as possible for the upcoming academic school year. Outside of JROTC, he works at his synagogue to help teach students, runs a D&D Club, and more. After high school, he plans on majoring in history to become a history teacher at high schools. 

 As the Brigade J-8, Alexandra “Alex” Mapilisan manages the budgets for Brigade events and sets fundraisers for the Joint Brigade. These budgets allow our program to let our cadets have motivating and exciting activities over the school year. Over the course of Alex’s JROTC path which started from a blank zoom screen to switching over in-person, she has served as a c/1SG and S6 Communications assistant. She currently holds the Executive Officer position for her respective unit. Outside of the program, Alex is part of Morse's associated student body, APOP, club interact, and talent search. She was the former Junior class President in ASB, where she was able to plan and execute multiple fundraisers and social events at Morse to allow her class to have an exciting school year. This allowed Alex to work closely with the class treasurer and secretary which trained her to in budget management, marketing, and leading meetings. After high school, Alex hopes to attend a four-year college in California while being in the Army National Guard. 

As the Brigade’s Liaison Officer (LNO), Monica Medina is in charge of internal events, such as finding judges for competitions, communications with unit commanders and cadre, alumni networking, and external events such as presentations for sponsors and semester reviews. Throughout Monica’s JROTC career, she has participated in her units Academic League, JLAB, Honor Guard, Unarmed Drill Team, and Archery. She also is the captain of her units Academic League, JLAB, and Archery, and started her units’ Drone Team. Within her 3 years in the program, she’s risen to the positions of 1SG, and Company Commander of her respective unit. Outside of the program, Monica has dedicated herself to advocacy and gained 103 hours and counting of community service with Say San Diego’s Advocate for Change today. She’s also been involved in Hoovers Academy of Health and Healthier Community Cabinet Board, Cardinals Interact, and Academic League. Her hobbies include learning different languages, playing the guitar, and coding. After graduation, Monica wishes to attend a four-year University and major in computer science or political Science and work in the Army’s National Guard to eventually work in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in their counterintelligence or cybersecurity division.