Jay Seidel is a journalism professor and media adviser at Fullerton College. He advises the student publications The Hornet and Antorcha del Sur. The California Journalism Education Coalition named him Journalism Educator of the Year in 2011 and he has been a finalist for Fullerton College Teacher of the Year three times. Prior to becoming a teacher in 2005, he worked for 12 years as a writer and editor for various publications, including the Los Angeles Times and Popular Hot Rodding.
He is also professor and director of the Fullerton Drone Lab at Fullerton College. He has always had a passion for aviation as he was a member of the Civil Air Patrol as a teenager, where he flew gliders and immersed himself in all things aviation. This, coupled with his other passion for visual storytelling is what led him to drones and to create the Fullerton Drone Lab at Fullerton College.
He is a Part 107 certified UAS Pilot and has been flying drones since 2016. He is an AUVSI TOP (Level 3) UAV Instructor and is a member of the FAA’s Safety Team where he is a Drone Pro for Orange and Los Angeles counties. He regularly speaks across Southern California communities about drone safety and drone education.
He wrote the textbook Drones: Training and Applications to Digital Imaging and has been a guest speaker and trainer at a variety of industry workshops and conferences. He is the president of the AUVSI Lindbergh Chapter, which includes members from all areas of autonomous systems from all of Southern California.
He served 12 years in the U.S. Army and California Army National Guard where he worked as an engineer and photojournalist.
He earned his master’s degree in communications from Cal State University, Fullerton, his bachelor’s degree in journalism from California State University, Long Beach, and his Associate of Arts degree in journalism from Fullerton College.
