Todd Otis’ lifelong advocacy career in Minnesota, and his work as a change-agent in early childhood, has had a significant and long-term positive impact on early childhood public policies, systems, and most importantly on the quality of early learning experiences for children and families.
Todd graduated from Harvard College with a BA in History and received an MS in Journalism from Columbia University. Among many other accomplishments, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal and as a legislator in the Minnesota House of Representative for 12 years. From 2001-2011 he was President of Ready 4 K, an early education advocacy group created to build public awareness, enlist support from the business community, organize the early childhood community, and promote public policy to improve school readiness in Minnesota. In 2012 Ready-4-K merged with Think Small, where Todd served as Senior Vice President of External Relations until his retirement in 2017.
In 2024 Todd published a novel, Sparks of the Revolution: James Otis and the Birth of American Democracy.
Each year we set up at least one opportunity for the Todd Otis Public Policy Interns to meet with Todd.
