Meet the Team

Dara Joan Dela Cruz

Accounting & Finance Assistant

Dara Joan Dela Cruz formerly worked in the KPBS newsroom as an assistant and call screener for Friday's Midday Edition. Dara attends San Diego State University where she plans to graduate with a business degree in accounting. She is a current member of the University Honors Program, which has encouraged her to also pursue a minor in interdisciplinary studies. After graduation, she later hopes to obtain an MBA, become a certified public accountant, and eventually manage her own firm. Before coming to San Diego, Dara lived in the Silicon Valley, where she grew up and graduated from Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, California. In her spare time, Dara likes to explore the city, watch films, and play the flute, as she is also a member of the university's wind symphony.

RECENT STORIES ON KPBS

Military

New contract between Marine Corps, Frontwave Credit Union provides more protections for recruits

Scott Rodd

A KPBS investigation last year found the Marine Corps funneled thousands of Marine recruits into the Oceanside-based credit union annually in order to process their paychecks. It also found the credit union relied on overdraft fees as a key source of revenue.
Yosemite employees worked for weeks with no pay before the government hired them

Chiara Eisner

Seasonal employees counting on housing at Yosemite were asked to volunteer for the park while the government was unable to onboard them at the start of the summer.
Health

Teen suicide is on the decline, new federal data shows

Rhitu Chatterjee

The 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health report found that in recent years, depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in teens have declined.
Environment

Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose

Rebecca Hersher

The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.
National

Leaves piled up after her husband's injury. Then a friend showed up with a rake

Laura Kwerel

In 2017, Eileen Freiberg-Dale's husband, Barney, had a serious bicycle accident that caused a brain injury. Those first few months were among the hardest of her life. A friend offered support.
Meet Žibuoklė Martinaitytė, the composer who wants to get inside your head

Tom Huizenga

The Lithuanian composer, now based in New York, creates layered, deliberate music that she hopes will grant listeners the freedom to enter an altered state of mind.