Steger co-founded the Center for Global Environmental Education (CGEE) at Hamline University in 1991 following the successful International Trans-Antarctic Expedition which reached 15 million students worldwide. In 1993, he founded the World School for Adventure Learning at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota). In 2006, due to his growing concern about climate change, he established the Will Steger Foundation to educate and empower people to engage in solutions to climate change. In 2014, he launched the Steger Wilderness Center, his final phase of his larger mission to keep the planet sustainable for future generations.