Speaking Engagements
Jim Festante (Executive Director, Health-e-Habits)
Media Industry Insider | Digital Wellness Strategist
“I help families survive the algorithm.”
Jim Festante is a former executive turned digital safety architect. For 20+ years, he built content for media corporations, social media companies, and video game studios, mastering the engagement loops and attention mechanics that keep audiences hooked. Now, he uses that insider knowledge to help families break the spell.
As the Executive Director of Health-e-Habits, Jim moves beyond generic “screen time” advice to provide tactical digital defense strategies. He pulls back the curtain on the Black Box of technology, teaching parents, students, and educators how to distinguish between creative tools and predatory design, and how to navigate the social minefield of algorithmic feeds.
Focus Areas & Expertise
Media Literacy: Deconstructing the Creator Economy and the specific psychological tricks influencers use to monetize insecurity.
Gaming & Masculinity: Partnering with the American Institute for Boys and Men (AIBM), Jim works to reshape online gaming culture. He advocates for positive play, moving boys from toxic lobbies to pro-social digital spaces that build agency and real-world resilience.
The Insider Strategy: Jim doesn’t just say screens are addictive; he shows you the blueprints. His workshops reveal the Skinner Box mechanics of game design and the limbic capitalism driving social media.
Digital Bootcamps: Jim empowers caregivers to move beyond policing devices to building a Digital Infrastructure for the home. His sessions focus on “Connection over Correction,” teaching parents to decode their child’s digital world (from Roblox to Group Chats) so they can lead with authority, not anxiety.
Background
Jim’s digital journey began in 1996, designing websites at the dawn of the commercial web. He transitioned into online entertainment, producing for major networks before shaping the marketing landscape for global gaming sensations like Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft. He also consults creatively for studios including Pixar and Disney, and has spoken at countless schools, afterschool programs, and entertainment institutions including Sundance.
Deeply invested in youth mentorship, Jim volunteers with local sports groups, PTA and school fundraising committees, Crisis Text Line, and Big Brothers Big Sisters. He combines this empathy with industry-hardened experience to build coalitions that ensure the next generation creates technology, rather than being consumed by it.