As a veteran elementary school teacher, Otis Kriegel (M.S.Ed, The Bank Street College of Ed) has taught all grades, one through five, in the public schools of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City. He has taught in bilingual (Spanish/English), monolingual, and C.T.T. (Collaborative Team Teaching) classrooms. Seven years ago, Kriegel created the workshop "How To Survive Your First Years Teaching & Have A Life," which was the impetus for his upcoming book, Everything A New Elementary School Teacher Really Needs to Know (But Didn't Learn in College) (Free Spirit Publishing, April 2013). Otis created The K5, a website that features short videos to help parents of elementary school-age children deal with everyday challenges. An experienced presenter, he speaks at K-5 teacher training programs and consults in schools.

Also an artist, Otis was the cofounder of the NYC-based public art collective, Illegal Art. The results of Illegal Art's project, Suggestion Box, were published in book form as Suggestion by Chronicle Books (August 2005). Otis's public art, photography and film/video have been featured by The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times (Op Art), Public Art Review, WNYC Radio and National Public Radio, among others. Otis has spoken at numerous universities and conferences about his creative work, most notably at the 2008 College Art Association Annual Conference in Dallas, Texas. He was selected as the 2010 Artist-in-Residence at Webb School of Knoxville, Tennessee.