Heather Fontanilla, JD           Digital Safari Educator: U.S. History, Economics and Government Heather Fontanilla began teaching in 1998 in the Digital Safari Academy at Mt. Diablo High School in Concord, CA. Currently, Heather serves as the co-lead teacher for the academy with the primary responsibility of managing grant funds and compiling the necessary data and reports for the state. With her teaching partner, she has also been instrumental in planning curriculum for the academy, including the development of the Digital Safari Innovation Project Model™. Heather has presented at several state and national conferences including the Autodesk Foundation’s national project based learning conference, “Kids Who Know and Do”, the California Tech Prep Conference, The California CUE Conference and the California Partnership Academy Conference on the subjects of curriculum development, cross-curricular integration, project based learning and career academy development. Heather received her BA in History. She then attended University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where she received her Juris Doctorate, with distinction. After receiving her law degree, she practiced law in southern California and the Bay Area. After practicing law for six years, she began teaching while earning her teaching credential at Chapman University. In 2007, Heather was nominated for Mt. Diablo Unified School District Teacher of the Year. As a key member of the Digital Safari teaching team, the Academy received recognition from several organizations including the national High School Alliance, the Career Academy Support Network at UC Berkeley, the Autodesk Foundation for Project Based Learning and the National Association of School Administrators.