Gerardo Otero is the 2021/2022 president of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), organizing its 40th congress to be held in San Francisco, California May 5-8, 2022. Its central theme is: "Polarización socioambiental y rivalidad entre grandes potencias." See LASA's website. In 2021, Otero was ellected fellow to Academy II (Social Sciences) of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC).

At Simon Fraser University, Otero is a Professor at the School for International Studies and an associated faculty member of the Labour Studies Program. In Vancouver, Otero is a founding member of the British Columbia Employment Standards Coalition, and a Research Associate at the BC Office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.