He is the former President of the Carroll Center for the Blind, Newton, MA and holds the position of Adjunct Professor, Suffolk University, Graduate School of Public Management. Festa formerly served as the Secretary of Elder Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was formerly the state representative for Melrose, Massachusetts and parts of Wakefield, Massachusetts. He attended Tufts University, B.A. 1976 and Suffolk University Law School, J.D. 1979. From 1979 to 1981 he held office as the assistant district attorney, Middlesex County. Festa has also been an attorney in private practice since 1981.