Who is Dr Shannon Joslin? California park biologist fired over hanging transgender pride flag at Yosemite National Park

In August 2025, Yosemite National Park made headlines following the termination of Dr. Shannon “SJ” Joslin, a wildlife biologist and park ranger, who was a key player in the decision to hang a transgender pride flag from El Capitan, one of the park’s most well-known rocks.

The events that followed led to a discussion about free expression, workplace behaviors, and the treatment of LGBTQ+ public service employees.

Joslin, 35, described as non-binary, started at Yosemite in 2021 and deemed their Yosemite position "the best job to have." Joslin, who holds a PhD in bioinformatics and genomics from the University of California, Davis, has built a career in wildlife biology, data analysis, and conservation.

Of course, the Yosemite park ranger who just got fired for unfurling a trans flag on El Capitan is a "nonbinary" trans activist/grad student at UC Davis.

“Being trans is a natural and beautiful part of human and biological diversity.”

— Shannon Joslin (they/them), @ucdavis… pic.twitter.com/Rpwf2TMGSi

— Beth Bourne (@bourne_beth2345) August 20, 2025

According to the New York Post, Joslin told me that they intentionally chose the National Park Service (NPS) over higher-paying opportunities in Silicon Valley because conserving natural areas was more important to them. They hold a bachelor’s degree in genetics and a phd in philosophy.

"I’m devastated. We don’t take our positions in the park service to make money or to have any kind of huge career gains. We take it because we love the places that we work," Joslin told NBC News.

In addition to their profession as a biologist, Joslin is recognized in the climbing community as a climber and a youth coach. They have shared that climbing has provided a physical and mental outlet for them in life.

Joslin's journey has included challenges such as recovering from substantial health complications relating to a parasite that left Joslin with hypothyroidism, osteopenia, and other difficulties. After dealing with some setbacks, Joslin was able to rebuild their strength through training, nutrition, and sheer will, and stated that climbing helped them to recover their identity.

"I wanted to try hard, I wanted to be on top of that boulder, I wanted to squeeze grips until sweat leaked out my fingertips and forcefully ejected me from the rock,"  Shannon  Joslin said in an interview with Moja Gear.

Shannon Joslin stands up for herself after being fired for hanging a transgender pride flag

The controversy started in May 2025, when Joslin, who was off-duty, assisted in hanging up a large transgender pride flag on El Capitan. The flag had been there for a total of two hours before climbers took it down at the request of the park.

Shannon Joslin stated that what they did was personal and not related to their profession, and that they felt the need to take action due to what they saw as discriminatory policies from the federal administration, including restrictions on transgender athletes.

"Last week I was fired from my dream job as a permanent park ranger with the NPS for practicing my First Amendment right. I hung the flag in my free time, off-duty, as a private citizen," they wrote on Instagram.

After the incident, Yosemite officials created a policy restricting the use of large flags in wilderness areas, and shortly thereafter, an investigation was initiated, and by August, Joslin was informed that they were being terminated for failure to show appropriate conduct.

Shannon Joslin also noted that other instances of flags being hung on El Capitan had not resulted in similar punishments and claimed their termination was discriminatory.

The National Park Service claimed that a number of its regulations were broken by several employees, though they provided no further details. Joslin, for their part, claimed that they and two employees were being marginalized and singled out.