Advocating for trauma patients—and the people who care for them
Crystal Shelnutt’s path to public health leadership began in the back of an ambulance.
Now, as the Regional Trauma System Development Manager for the Georgia Trauma Commission, she works across the state to ensure that patients receive the best possible care when trauma strikes on a rural road, in a school, on a job site or at home. And importantly, that the people caring for them have the necessary tools, training and support.
With nearly 20 years of experience as a paramedic, EMS educator and trauma systems advocate, Shelnutt’s work spans policy, education and operations. She manages statewide initiatives that build trauma care capacity across 10 EMS regions, particularly in underserved rural areas, while also leading workforce development efforts to address the critical shortage of frontline emergency clinicians.
Whether designing education programs, mentoring EMS leaders, or advocating for advanced prehospital care, Shelnutt’s mission is constant: strengthen the system, support the providers, and improve outcomes for injured Georgians.
“My passion for EMS and education is directly aligned with the mission of the Trauma Commission,” she said. “We’re building a trauma system that protects and advocates for people from ditch to discharge, and that means protecting the workforce, too.”
Shelnutt began her career in EMS after a nudge from her father, a firefighter who suggested taking an EMT course. What started as a way to bolster her medical school applications quickly turned into a lifelong calling. Working on ambulances in rural communities, she saw firsthand how fragmented medical systems and limited resources created life-threatening gaps in care. That experience fueled her commitment to becoming a skilled clinician and a systems-level problem solver.
As she gained experience in the field, Shelnutt took on greater leadership roles as an instructor, a regional trauma coordinator, and a founder of a public safety training company. Her programs helped close educational gaps for EMTs, firefighters, law enforcement, nurses and physicians across Georgia. But over time, it became clear that making a lasting impact would require not just teaching within the system but reshaping it.
She returned to school and earned a Master of Public Health in Disaster Management from the University of Georgia College of Public Health’s Institute for Disaster Management in 2022, completing the program during the COVID-19 pandemic while still working on an ambulance full-time and serving as the Athens area trauma coordinator.
“The pandemic changed how we viewed public health, and it changed how I viewed my own work,” Shelnutt said. “UGA gave me the systems thinking, the policy lens, and the strategic framework to do what I’m doing now.”
In her current role, Shelnutt leads several high-impact initiatives: a statewide EMS educational needs assessment (the first of its kind in Georgia), expansion of trauma education for rural providers, and coordination of large-scale Stop the Bleed efforts. She’s also helping pilot new funding models to support EMS agencies struggling to meet readiness requirements amid workforce shortages.
“You don’t get to choose which ambulance shows up on your worst day,” she said. “But we can choose to build a system where every provider is well-trained, well-equipped, and mentally supported to do the job.”
Shelnutt’s impact also extends back to UGA, where she mentors students, hosts interns, leads trauma education workshops and contributes to collaborative research efforts. Recent interns supported a data-driven project analyzing statewide EMS education trends, a project with real implications for funding and policy decisions.
“Nobody ever asked me, as a provider, how I wanted to be trained or what I needed to succeed,” she says. “Now we’re asking those questions and listening to the answers.”
Her advice to future public health professionals reflects the intensity of her work and the importance of balance: “Stay grounded in your purpose. Fight for the people nobody else is fighting for. And when you’re overwhelmed, drink some water and sit in the sun—you’re basically a houseplant with complicated emotions,” she laughs.
What makes Shelnutt’s work so impactful is its clarity of mission. She’s not chasing titles or checking boxes—she’s helping to shape a trauma system that works for everyone. And she’s doing it with the urgency, precision and compassion of someone who’s seen what happens when the system fails.
By Erica Techo
