John Lester joined Linden Lab (the creators of Second Life) in 2005, bringing experience in online community development as well as a background in the fields of healthcare and education. Previously, John was the Information Systems Director for the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he pioneered the use of the web in 1993 to create online communities supporting patients dealing with neurological disorders. As a Research Associate in Neurology at Harvard Medical School, he also created online collaborative education environments for professors and students to advance the case-based teaching method in medical education.

John currently serves as Boston Operations Director at Linden Lab’s new Boston-area office. He is also the Academic Program Manager, leading the company’s efforts to support educators and acting as an evangelist for teaching, academic research, and scientific visualization in Second Life.

John lives in Boston and is commonly referred to by his avatar’s name in Second Life — “Pathfinder Linden.” He often gives presentations at universities and conferences on how Second Life can be used as a platform for education, focusing on strategies for success. For more information, please see www.pathfinderlinden.com.