Elyssa Shalla

Elyssa currently serves as the North Rim and Canyon District Interpreter at Grand Canyon National Park. In this role she explores new opportunities for community collaboration in interpretation, external partnerships, and volunteerism. 

Since arriving at the park in 2009, she has worked as a Park Ranger in the Desert View, South Rim, North Rim, and backcountry districts. Elyssa was the recipient of the 2018 Freeman Tilden Award, the highest honor bestowed upon an NPS Interpreter for the Towers and Type audience centered experience and webpage she designed. 

Elyssa has contributed to the development of national interpretation training curriculum while on detail at Stephen T. Mather Training Center and recently completed a detail assignment focused on climate change response planning efforts as the Assistant NPS Colorado River Coordinator. She finds joy in trail running and living year-round on the remote North Rim.