Cole attended Edinboro University, now known as Penn West, for undergraduate school. There, after several years of figuring out exactly what she wanted to do (Doctor-->Neurotechnology--->Oh, Artist!), she earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Applied Media Arts. Afterwards, she attended Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.
While studying for a K-12 Art Education certification and earning an M.F.A., she taught in Erie Public Schools and a local private school. She also ran a gallery space at the Academy Theatre in Meadville and photographed local events/weddings. Once her certification and terminal degree were completed, she worked part-time at the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville and at Penn State University, The Behrend College. In 2015, she became a full-time Assistant Teaching Professor of Digital Arts at Penn State Behrend. There, she encouraged students to explore Digital Media from Photography to Interactive Media to Game Design.
In the Fall of 2019, Cole left Erie to continue her adventure at West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. She is presently one of two core faculty for their Game Design and Interactive Media at the Reed College of Media. At WVU, Heather teaches Game Design and Development. In these courses, students learn game design and development concepts through Adobe Creative Applications, Unity, Godot, Unreal, and Python.
In the Fall of 2021, she launched a voluntary organization called MonRiverGames. In the summer of 2022, it officially achieved non profit 501 (c) (3) status. The purpose of MonRiverGames is to bring together local game makers of West Virginia and Southern Pennsylvania to learn and make games in a large community team environment. Its goal is to support educational and professional development and opportunities for local game makers and her students.
When she isn't teaching, Cole delights in expanding her toolset to support her interactive art practice as well community service. She makes games, designs books, and random other crafty things. She is also fortunate to have the company of her two highly imaginative children, partner, and sister that inspire her work.
