Drone Academy

Jonathan Elmer

Mr. Jonathan Elmer is a current adjunct faculty member in the Journalism Department of the School of Arts & Sciences at Southern Connecticut State University and has been an FAA-certified drone pilot since 2016. He was a member of the inaugural class at the Drone Journalism Workshop at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln in 2016.

Prior to transitioning into academia, Mr. Elmer had a successful 20-year career as a photojournalist, splitting time equally at the world headquarters of the Associated Press and Bloomberg News in New York City. During his tenure at Bloomberg News, Mr. Elmer was the photo assignment editor for the Americas and worked as a multimedia producer. Prior to that, he worked at the Associated Press, where he created the International Business Photo Desk.

Following his tenure at AP and Bloomberg, Mr. Elmer began teaching video, photojournalism, and visual communication at the college level.  During his time at Washington State University in Pullman at the Edgar R. Murrow College of Communication, Mr. Elmer integrated the use of drones into his “Video for the Web” class and assisted students with drone videography projects. He then began working at Louisiana Technical University where he was the faculty adviser for all student media and initiated the online publication of the student newspaper and magazine.

Mr. Elmer received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photojournalism from the Rochester Institute of Technology and his Master of Arts in Journalism from The Ohio State University. 

Jacob Zonderman

Jacob Zonderman, is an adjunct professor in the Journalism Department at Southern Connecticut State University. As an FAA Part 107 sUAS license holder and drone operator, Zonderman teaches SCSU’s basic drone classes, and in the public Drone Academy. He is a freelance multimedia journalist, audio production specialist and musician. His reporting and photos have been published in the New Haven Register, New Haven Independent and other small local papers. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Audio and Music Production from Western Connecticut State University, and a Master of Science in Journalism from Quinnipiac University, where he was the recipient of the Faculty Award for Academic Excellence for his capstone project, “New Haven—Connecticut’s Safe Haven for Undocumented Immigrants,” and his reporting on refugees. Before joining SCSU as an adjunct professor, he worked as the University Assistant helping students and faculty on projects utilizing the department’s technology and gear.