A social psychologist, Otis is a much sought-after copywriter for nonprofit fundraising messages. He has written campaigns for UNICEF, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, The March of Dimes, Susan G. Komen, Autism Speaks, and dozens of other organizations. Most of Otis’ career was spent in the education industry, working at the psychometric R&D firm Metametrics, Inc., Pearson Education, and others. Since 2013, he has focused on the nonprofit sector, applying psychology to fundraising and donor behavior. With Katrina VanHuss, he is the co-author of the books Dollar Dash: The Behavioral Economics of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising (2017) and Social Fundraising: Mining the New Peer-to-Peer Landscape (2023). He is a frequent speaker at national nonprofit conferences and writes a blog at NonProfit Pro, "Peeling the Onion," on the intersection of psychology and philanthropy.Otis has a Ph.D. in social psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University and a B.A. from the University of Virginia, where he played on UVA’s first ACC champion basketball team.
Listed skills include Lifesciences, Marketing Strategy, Strategic Partnerships, Business Development, and 41 others.