Jim was born and raised in upstate New York near Buffalo where his father was a teacher. He attended New York State University where he received his BS degree in Technology and Communications.
Jim received a Phi Delta Kappa Key upon graduating in 1972. Over the next several years Jim did graduate studies in communications at the University of Delaware while he taught Electronics and Engineering Drafting at Newark High School in Newark, DE. Jim was asked to become a technical consultant for a major international consulting firm working on projects ranging from electronic instrumentation companies to nuclear power plants.
While in college he became interested in television broadcasting. Jim got the chance to work for ABC TV in New England in the late 70's. This started a 17 year career as a Television Broadcasting Executive in which he worked for ABC, CBS, and NBC Television stations. While living in Alaska, Jim successfully ran for the Alaska Borough Assembly, where he represented the people of Fairbanks for two years before moving back to the Lower 48 to work for ABC TV again.
Jim came to Minnesota from Princeton, NJ in the early 1990's to work for a computer manufacturer in the Twin Cities as the Domestic Accounts Manager. When the company was sold to another manufacturer he left to work as a contract consultant in the electronic, communication, and computer industries. After 5 years of working with Hewlett Packard, Jim decided to go back into teaching so he could share all the knowledge and experience he had acquired with young people. He stated at Humboldt High in the fall of 2005 where he taught classes in Computer Technology and programming. He is continuing his graduate studies at the University of St. Thomas in Law and Education. In his first year at Humboldt, Mr. Otto was the receipient of an Ecolab Grant. In 2009, Jim was asked to join the staff at Gordon Parks High and create a Computer Technology program there and is a member of CSTA (Computer Science Teachers Association).