Dave Lester

The Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) is very pleased to welcome Dave Lester to its leadership team as an Assistant Director.

Dave Lester has been employed by George Mason University's Center for History & New Media where he coordinated software development outreach for the Omeka Web publishing system used by libraries, museums, and archives. He was responsible for prototyping mobile applications for museums, fostering a collaborative open source community, and co-organizing THATCamp, an annual Digital Humanities "unconference" bringing together practitioners to collaborate and share their work. Prior to Mason, Dave was a Crossroads Fellow at Georgetown University's Center for New Designs in Learning & Scholarship, and helped redevelop the American Studies Crossroads Project Web site. He is also a HASTAC scholar, and his ongoing research focuses on place-based computing and the engagement of the public in crowdsourcing local history.

"I'm excited to be a part of the growth of Digital Humanities at the University of Maryland, and look forward to helping create and manage digital projects at MITH," says Lester. Neil Fraistat, Director of MITH, adds, "Dave's extraordinary range of skills, creativity, and energy make him a perfect addition to MITH's management team. He has gained invaluable experience during his time at George Mason and will forge one more link between our two centers. We are delighted to welcome him to MITH!"

Dave will start with us in early January. Be sure to stop by and say hello!