Los Angeles City College Professor Selected for Alex Trebek Legacy Fellowship

Jen Vaughn, a professor at Los Angeles City College, has been selected for an Alex Trebek Legacy Fellowship by the Television Academy Foundation in Hollywood. She is one of 18 professors selected from colleges and universities nationwide for the 2026 fellowship program.

Since 2021, the Foundation has offered Alex Trebek Legacy Fellowships, established by the Harry & Judy Friedman Family Foundation, in honor of the late television icon and Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, which provide financial support for educators from community colleges and minority-serving institutions to attend its annual Media Educators Conference. The three-day conference, held at the Television Academy’s North Hollywood campus in California, Oct. 21-23, connects college classrooms with the television industry by providing media professors with curriculum-enhancing seminars on the latest in the art, science and business of television with prominent leaders in entertainment.

Vaughn is a professor in the Cinema/TV Department at Los Angeles City College, where she has taught since 2013. She specializes in multicamera production, live television directing, television hosting, podcasting, livestreaming and post-production with a focus on connecting classroom learning to professional industry practices.

Before joining LACC, Vaughn spent more than a decade in San Francisco working as a freelance producer, videographer and editor, as well as a lecturer in the Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts Department at San Francisco State University. Her professional experience in live sports broadcasting includes two years as an editor and later as a technical director for Pac-12 Networks. She continues to maintain strong industry connections and creates opportunities for students interested in careers in live and sports broadcasting.

Vaughn remains active in the entertainment industry, freelancing on projects ranging from producing live streams for the Ojai Music Festival to working in film production. Her recent credits include the Oscar-qualifying short film Spilled Milk, which went on to win the HBO Short Film Award at the American Black Film Festival.

As an educator, Vaughn is passionate about demystifying technical concepts; building student confidence; and preparing emerging media professionals to communicate, collaborate, problem-solve and meet industry standards in an evolving television landscape.