ThinkSmall

The mission of Think Small is to advance quality care and education of children in their early years.  Think Small uses leading-edge knowledge from the early childhood field to create services and tools that support and strengthen the abilities of families and early childhood professionals. These include Preparing Early Childhood Professionals; Professional Development, Consultation, and Coaching; Community Outreach and Access; Publishing; Strengthening Families; and Catalyzing Change.

Todd Otis was born and raised in St.Paul, Minnesota. Todd graduated cum laude from Harvard College in 1967, then joined the Peace Corps and served in Senegal from 1967 to 1969. He then received an MS degree in journalism in 1970 from Columbia University. He is married to Caren Dewar and has two daughters Katharine and Madeline. He lives in Minneapolis.

In 1978 Todd was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives where he served from 1979 to 1990. He focused on energy, education, and chaired the House Economic Development Committee from 1987 to 1990.

He served as DFL (Democratic) Party chair from 1990 to 1993 and then did public affairs consulting from 1995 to 2001, focusing on early childhood and environmental issues. Todd has written articles and a book (A Review of Nuclear Energy in the United States: Hidden Power) on energy issues. He has served on the Board of Directors of a number of Minnesota-based organizations.

He founded Ready 4 K in 2001 and served as its President until the end of 2011. He is now the Senior Vice President for External Affairs at Think Small.