Ron Ottinger is a nationally recognized leader in STEM education, particularly in the informal and out-of-school-time (OST) space. Over the past two decades, including in his current role as executive director of STEM Next Opportunity Fund, Ron has been instrumental in shaping and expanding the OST STEM field and positioning OST programs as vital to STEM education.
From 2005 to 2015, Ron served as executive director the Noyce Foundation, where he made significant investments in afterschool and summer STEM learning. After the Noyce Foundation’s sunset, Ron helped establish its successor, STEM Next Opportunity Fund, in 2017. Under his continued leadership, STEM Next has achieved remarkable success strengthening and expanding STEM programming in OST settings.
Notably, STEM Next’s Million Girls Moonshot initiative was launched in 2020 to engage one million girls in STEM learning opportunities through afterschool and summer programs by 2025. It surpassed its goal within four years, reaching more than 2.6 million girls and 5.2 million young people overall.
Ron co-founded the STEM Funders Network and helped launch the STEM Learning Ecosystems Initiative, fostering collaboration among funders, policymakers, and practitioners to create systemic change in STEM education.
As the Executive Editor of STEM Ready America, a compendium published in 2017, Ron convened the nation’s leading STEM experts presenting bold and persuasive evidence — as well as real-world examples of effective practices, programs, and partnerships — on how STEM knowledge and skills are preparing young people to be successful in school today and the workforce tomorrow.
Prior to STEM Next and the Noyce Foundation, Ron served as national associate director of the nonprofit AVID Center for 14 years and served three terms on the San Diego City Schools’ Board of Education, including as its longest-running board president during a period of significant reform.
Ron now serves on the boards of several organizations, including the National Math & Science Initiative, Concord Consortium, and the Molina Foundation. He also holds an emeritus position on the board of the San Diego Natural History Museum, reflecting his long-standing commitment to informal science education.
Looking to the future, STEM Next is focused on integrating career awareness and exploration into STEM OST programs, aiming to create more STEM career pathways for youth. Under Ron’s leadership, the organization continues to champion cross-sector partnerships, believing that collaboration is key to scaling impact and preparing the next generation of innovators.