Kirby-Lynn Shedlowski

About Kirby-Lynn

• She was born in Seoul, South Korea to an unmarried mother—this was a big taboo in Korean culture, so her mother gave her up for adoption.
• Was in foster care in South Korea for a year before she was adopted by an American family—moved to Pennsylvania and grew up in the Pocono Mountains.
• Started working for the National Park Service in high school as a volunteer—two years later, they hired her as part of a student employment program and she worked for them all through college.
• After graduating from college, she admits she struggled with the idea of starting her career and being on her own because she didn’t really know what she wanted to do.
• The National Park Service ended up offering her a full-time position in Maryland, so she accepted—she’s been working for them for the last 15 years.
• She has worked in a variety of positions within the Park Service, but she really found her passion while working as a public information officer during the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
• After working on the East Coast in a “cubicle farm” as a management assistant, she was ready for a change; when an opportunity to transfer to Grand Canyon National Park opened up, she grabbed it.
• She now works as the public affairs officer and acts as public spokeswoman for the Grand Canyon; says, “It’s the job I never knew I always wanted.”