Tom Nickel is a teacher and new media explorer.

He began his career as a writer at WGBH-TV. He influenced and was influenced by the early years of independent media and, twenty-five years later, of online teaching and learning.  He received a PhD in Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences from Utah State University in 2002.

Tom has made mortality a central part of his life, as a volunteer caregiver for the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco, as a teacher in university and continuing education programs, and as a host for death and loss events in the metaverse.

He is also a Founding Board member of the Africa VR Campus & Center, in Nairobi, Kenya; and a supporter of the Khmer Magic Music Bus, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Tom and his wife live in the San Juan Islands with family and dogs.