Laylan Connelly

Laylan Connelly started as a journalist in 2002 after earning a degree in journalism from the University of Southern California. Through the years, she has covered several cities for The Orange County , starting as a beat reporter in Irvine before focusing on coastal cities such as Newport Beach, Dana Point and Laguna Beach. In 2007, she was selected for a prestigious Knight New Media fellowship focusing on digital media at UC Berkeley, where she learned skills to adapt to the ever-changing online landscape. About the same time, she began covering the 42-miles of Orange County coastline, focusing on lifestyle, environment, surf culture and anything having to do with the beach. Her coastal coverage now extends up the California coast into Long Beach and the South Bay. In 2023, she was inducted into the Surfers' Hall of Fame for her contributions to the sport's culture through her stories, with imprints of her hands and feet set in cement across from the Huntington Beach Pier alongside surfing icons.