Kayla Elias

Kayla is an Associate based in TrailRunner International’s Truckee office, where she advises clients on corporate communications and reputation, issues and crisis management, and global communications strategy. Kayla has experience serving clients globally, helping them navigate complex reputational issues, overseeing media engagement and executing on external and digital communications strategies.

Kayla came to TrailRunner from Vail Resorts, where she worked on strategic communications efforts for the company’s three Tahoe-region resorts and managed marketing, branding, content development, and social media for Northstar California Resort.

Prior to her work with Vail Resorts, Kayla spent nearly seven years in Washington, D.C., where she managed communications for The Arabia Foundation, a Saudi-aligned think tank focused on the geopolitics and socioeconomics of the Middle East, and she also worked with two public affairs firms, Stratacomm and Portland Communications. With strong knowledge of the Middle East, Kayla’s client experience ranges from foreign government work to energy and infrastructure to nonprofits and philanthropy. During her time with Portland, she spent nearly three years solely dedicated to supporting The Government of the State of Qatar and the Qatari Embassy in D.C., providing U.S.-based government communications and media relations services, and working with U.S. officials and thought leaders to better understand policy on matters affecting Qatar. Kayla has also worked with clients such as the U.S. Department of Energy, Norfolk Southern, Amtrak, and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

A Michigan native, Kayla earned her BA in Political Science with a minor in Middle East Studies from Grand Valley State University and studied abroad in Lebanon, Egypt, Oman, and Tunisia. She is fluent in Lebanese Colloquial Arabic.