His mother was a singer at the N.Y. City Center Opera and his father conducted the Wagner College Choir.
At the beginning of Steen's career, he mainly focused on teaching and helping develop research experiences for undergraduates.
[4] In the 1980s, Steen helped lead national efforts to modernize the teaching of calculus and other areas in undergraduate mathematics.
He helped broaden the mathematics major at St. Olaf by focusing the students work on inquiry and investigation.
In the late 1990s, Steen worked as a writer and editor in pioneering grade-by-grade standards that helped meet the mathematical requirements of college as well as careers.