Jen Ottinger

Jen is our Executive Director and is charged with stewarding High 5 into its third decade. She has more than 30 years of experience in management, communications, nonprofit leadership, and finance, having developed her skills at organizations in New York, New Jersey, and Colorado before joining High 5 in 2002. She’s celebrating 22 years with High 5 and still to this day reflects back to the first training that she took at High 5 in 2002, as a new employee. “I can vividly remember the people I met in that workshop, an amazing and varied group of people who connected, and were profoundly transformed by their experience. Thinking back on the mission of High 5 back then and now, much has changed and yet much has stayed the same, especially in the community-building aspects of our work.” 

Jen’s experience runs deep at High 5. At one time or another, she’s had roles in all areas of the organization, including Challenge Course Services, Training & Team Development, Catalog, Edge of Leadership, and Operations. Her institutional knowledge of High 5 and its mission is exceptional and something she loves to share with others whenever she can, along with her passion for the mission of High 5: to help others Connect, Empower, Lead…Be the Example.

She holds a BA in Business Administration and Marketing and holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership. In true stewardship fashion, Jen has been a member of the ACCT Finance Committee for the past 8 years and continues to be a prominent voice in the industry advocating for the educational use of challenge courses. Her longtime mentor and Founding Director of High 5, Jim Grout, is honored to pass the leadership torch onto Jen, who in his view “has deep historical background and knowledge of High 5 and its mission, yet continuously brings fresh perspective and new ideas to the table.”