Shelby Nelson is a reporter and multimedia journalist in the Inland Empire. She joined KTLA 5 News in December 2021 and is thrilled to be storytelling in the region she grew up in.
The Covina-native graduated from San Francisco State University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast electronic communication arts. San Francisco is where Shelby kick-started her career. She worked as a writer for KTLA’s sister station, KRON 4 News, and later moved on to KPIX 5. After living in the Bay Area for six years, Shelby moved to Palm Springs to become a multimedia journalist and reporter at KESQ-TV.
Shelby has an interest in health, which prompted her to return to school while working in news. She attended City College of San Francisco to achieve a pre-nursing certificate. She is currently working toward a master’s in public health to expand upon her passion for health reporting. The COVID-19 pandemic spurred an even deeper interest in health news with Shelby finding microbiology topics, such as pathogenicity and virulence and its impact on a global scale, fascinating.
After having reported in the Coachella Valley, Shelby went on to become KTLA’s first Inland Empire reporter. She interned for the station in 2012 and never could have imagined continuing her dream at Southern California’s top news station.
Shelby is an avid traveler and lover of culture and languages. In 2012 she lived in Brazil where she learned Portuguese. Shelby later returned in 2014 to interview fans during the World Cup, which aired on San Francisco sports radio station 95.7 The Game. Shelby later picked up Spanish after wanting to learn it since she was young. She’s a third generation Mexican/Spanish American that loves all the traditions that come with her culture: tamale-making, celebrating Dia de los Muertos y mas!
In 2017 Shelby and her sister traveled to Peru to embark on a four-day Inca trek, which turned out to be one of the most amazing trips she has taken. While living in the Bay Area, there was never a dull moment getting to know the Golden State beyond SoCal: Point Reyes, Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Lakes, Santa Cruz and beyond.
In her free time Shelby loves to camp, spend time with family and cuddle with her two fur babies, Nala and Tequila (yes, those are dog names), both rescued from the SFSPCA.
Shelby loves to learn about new places and restaurants, not to mention events going on around SoCal. Feel free to say hello or send her a news story in your area at: shelby.nelson@ktla.com
