Jay began his career as a volunteer at the National Aquarium both in Washington, D.C., and in Baltimore. He took a part-time aquarist position at D.C. in 1997 and has since advanced to his current management position.
Jay oversees the Husbandry department, managing the aquarist staff, exhibits, and animal collection, and serves as the lead exhibit fabricator, among other duties.
Jay served an integral role in the renovation of the D.C. venue; he was involved in exhibit design and fabrication, life support design and installation, and animal acquisition and disposition.
Jay has a B.S. in biology from George Mason University and an M.A. in marine biology from the Florida Institute of Technology. Jay is fascinated by all fish but has a particular interest in sharks and rays and his master's thesis focused on the food preferences of the Atlantic stingray. But research was not enough; Jay wanted to be involved in a profession that conveyed important information about aquatic life to the general public and that is what drew him to a career in public aquariums.
Jay has performed multiple interviews for television, print, and radio media, mainly in reference to sharks, but other aquatic animals as well.
Jay is a member of the American Elasmobranch Society, the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Reef Environmental Education Foundation, and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Jay and his wife Johanna were both biology majors in college and are avid admirers of wildlife. They live in the Northern Virginia area with their son Conner and daughter Erin.
