Hester is a professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at the University of California at Berkeley.
Hester is also a sociologist, practicing landscape architect and co-director of Community Development by Design, a neighborhood planning organization focused on community participation and input.
Randolph Hester has also published a number of books central to the topic of designing neighborhoods, cities and landscapes; his most recent book Design for Ecological Democracy was published in September 2010.