Opeoluwa Sotonwa
Opeoluwa Sotonwa (born in Ijebu-Ode) is a Deaf Nigerian American attorney, disability rights advocate[1] and literary writer.[2] In February 2021, Governor Charles Baker appointed Sotonwa as the Commissioner and agency head for the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner, he was the executive director of Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.[3][4][5] and served previously as Vice President of the National Black Deaf Advocates,[6] the official advocacy organization for thousands of Black Deaf and Hard of Hearing Americans between 2013 and 2015. He is listed among the most influential Deaf People in the United States[7][8][9] Opeoluwa Sotonwa attended University of Ilorin Nigeria, where he read law and graduated with LLB degree in 2005. He later proceeded to Nigerian Law School for advanced legal training. He was called to the Nigerian Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2007. Opeoluwa worked as staff attorney with Nigerian Legal Aid Council. He later moved to United States to further his legal career and attended Howard University School of Law, where he graduated cum laude with a Master of Laws degree in 2009. Sotonwa earned his doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University's College of Professional Studies in 2018.
Sotonwa is the author of The Victim of The Silent Void, published in The Deaf Way II Anthology by Gallaudet University Press and has been featured prominently in the media.[10][11][12]
References
[edit]- ^ "Presenters | NAD". new.nad.org. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ Stremlau, Tonya M. (2002-01-01). Deaf Way 2 Anthology. Gallaudet University Press. ISBN 9781563681271.
- ^ Shahla Farzan (September 2, 2019). "State Program Aims To Help Missouri Residents Purchase Hearing Aids". St. Louis Public Radio. Event occurs at 4:43 PM CDT. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Rebecca Smith (June 29, 2020). "COVID-19 & ASL Interpreters: 'For the First Time, Many Missourians Felt Their Voice was Recognized'". University of Missouri School of Journalism.
- ^ "2013-2015 NBDA Executive Board Biographies | News".
- ^ "Famous Deaf People". Start ASL. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
- ^ Tonya M. Stremlau (2002). The Deaf Way II Anthology: A Literary Collection of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Writers. Gallaudet University Press. p. 89. ISBN 9781563681271.
- ^ Shaun Grech; Karen Soldatic (2016). Disability in the Global South: The Critical Handbook of International Perspectives on Social Policy, Administration, and Practice. Springer. p. 402. ISBN 978-3-319-4248-80.
- ^ "New rules would require closed captioning in movie theaters". KOMU.com. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "Text to 911 could launch in 2016 | KOMU.com | Columbia, MO |". KOMU.com. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "Hands Unite Around the Capitol in Support of Disability Awareness". kbia.org. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- Living people
- 21st-century Nigerian lawyers
- Deaf lawyers
- American lawyers with disabilities
- University of Ilorin alumni
- Howard University School of Law alumni
- Nigerian deaf people
- Northeastern University alumni
- 21st-century African-American lawyers
- 21st-century American lawyers
- Nigerian Law School alumni
- American disability rights activists
- American deaf people
- African-American activists
- African-American writers
- Deaf writers
- People from Ijebu Ode
- 20th-century births
- Nigerian emigrants to the United States
- Deaf activists
- American activists with disabilities
- American writers with disabilities
- American activists of Nigerian descent