James Fester

James Fester is an educator, author, and consultant with more than two decades of experience in public, private, and online schools, where he has worked as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, technology director, curriculum specialist, and technology integrationist. He is a full-time National Faculty member with PBLWorks, an internationally recognized expert in project-based learning, and has led initiatives that contributed to Apple Distinguished School designations after relocating from California to the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Fester holds a B.A. in History from California State University, Long Beach, and an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Penn State, along with teaching credentials in three states.

Fester is the author of The National Park Classroom: A Guide to Designing Project-Based Learning Adventures, published by ISTE, and co-author of Environmental Science for 6–12: A Project-Based Approach to Solving the Earth’s Most Urgent Problems, also published by ISTE. His writing and educational resources have appeared in outlets such as Edutopia, ISTE, National Geographic, TED-Ed, and KQED, and he is a National Geographic Certified Teacher and grantee, a Google Certified Innovator, and a UNESCO-MGIEP master teacher. A longtime national park volunteer and public lands advocate, Fester collaborates with national and state parks and