Alyssah Hall
University of California, Riverside (UCR) alumnus Otis Greer graduated in 1990 with his bachelor’s degree in sociology. Greer is now the director of Legislative and Public Affairs for San Bernardino County’s Transportation Authority (SBCTA), chair of the voter initiative for the Mu Xi Lambda chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and has served on the UCR Alumni Board, among many other distinguished positions.
Greer’s focus on community work began at his all boys Catholic high school that required 100 hours of community service in order to graduate. Greer volunteered at the Ontario YMCA and spent most of his time working with the youth.
Inspired by his work helping others, he continued to find ways to be of service and in community with his peers throughout college. At UCR, Greer spent time with the admissions staff and was asked to assist with giving campus tours to Black students who were underrepresented and to talk to them about admissions at the college.
“I like people. The study of people and behaviors and groups of people was interesting to me to understand how dynamics work…it was fascinating,” Greer said.
“I was a [resident assistant] in the dorms. You do different jobs like that, and you get into that habit of starting to recognize, understand or compare dynamics that are happening with certain groups of people. It was really fascinating, so it was a great fit academic wise,” Greer continued.
Greer recalled enjoying that he knew nearly everyone on UCR’s campus during his undergraduate career because the student population had been smaller. Due to the size of the campus at that time, Greer credits UCR for giving him the opportunity to participate in a variety of different activities with different people. Greer participated in activities that ranged from being a DJ at KUCR radio, to playing and refereeing intramural sports, to working on campus, and to being a community service officer with the police department.
“It was such a big experience that I’m in touch with a substantial number of folks that I went to school with. There are folks who I went to school with, who I see in my daily life. It was a great experience. I met my wife. She was a dorm student, so I met my wife in the dorms of UCR. It was a total family experience,” Greer shared.
“It gave you a touch of so much. In order to do well, you had to talk with people, you had to listen, you had to be willing to absorb a lot of that material that’s been given to you,” Greer continued.
Greer is also a board member of the Children’s Fund and said that once he started on the path of volunteering and giving time, opportunities continued to present themselves.
He has worked with UCR’s government affairs department and said he tries to collaborate when he can. He also partnered with his fraternity brother of Alpha Phi Alpha and UCR Director of African Student Programs, Dr. Jamal Myrick, on the “Step Up to the Polls” voter initiative, where different Divine 9 organizations from campuses throughout the Inland Empire competed in a civic-themed step show. The event was co-organized by the Divine 9 and Black Voice News and Greer said they hope to do a similar event in the fall.
In his position with SB CTA, Greer is currently working to facilitate his agency’s renewal of Measure I, a half-cent sales tax, which funds the transportation projects in San Bernardino. Greer said it’s a major funding source for transportation and transit improvements in San Bernardino County.
This series profiles notable Black alumni from the region and is funded in part by the University of California, Riverside.