Todd Lester

Todd Lester is an independent consultant for participatory and development communications. He holds a Masters of Public Administration from Rutgers University and is a candidate for Doctorate of Public and Urban Policy and the Film Production Diploma both from New School University. Todd recently served as project manager for 'Conflict Prevention and Effective Communication in the Southern Caucasus' and conducted research for the Vera List Center for Art and Politics. Todd is an adjunct instructor in the Media and Cultural Studies division of Eugene Lang College and the Paul McGhee division of New York University. In 2001, Todd edited the English-language daily for FESPACO in Burkina Faso and coordinated rural youth outreach during L'Ecrans Noirs festival in Cameroon. In 2003 he worked as events coordinator for the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF). In 2004 he served as assistant director for the World Social Forum Film Festival - Other Worlds are Breathing - in Mumbai, India and film programmer for the Health & Human Rights Film Festival at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Todd is currently working on the Zambia International Film Festival - Lusaka (Dec. 2004) and the IMAGINE Festival to be held in New York (Aug./Sept. 2004).