Dr Opeoluwa Sotonwa, an attorney, activist and author has become Massachusetts’ chief advocate for the Deaf and hard of hearing, making him the first person of colour to hold the post.
Sotonwa, 42, who contributed to the drafting of the National Disability law in Nigeria, will lead the state Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing starting in March after serving more than six years as the Executive Director of Missouri’s Commission for the Deaf.
Fluent in four languages, he earned a doctorate in law and policy from Northeastern University and is a former vice president of the National Black Deaf Advocates, state officials said.
His hiring completes a months-long search for a permanent leader at the agency, where employees and unions officials last year asked Governor Charlie Baker to address what they called a “culture of fear and uncertainty” under the former commissioner, Steven A. Florio.
To replace Florio, state officials sought someone who “understands deeply the diverse needs of the community,” Marylou Sudders, the state’s health and human services secretary said.
Sotonwa is “clearly accomplished and he knows how to get things done at the state and national level,” Sudders said in a video announcing his hire.
“He’s also a warm and kind person,” she said. “Governor Baker and I are confident that he’s the right person at this time to lead the commission.”
Sotonwa lost his hearing when he was 16, according to a short biography included in “The Deaf Way II Anthology,” a collection of work by deaf or hard of hearing writers that includes a play Sotonwa wrote.
After earning a law degree at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria, he helped in the drafting and passage of Nigeria’s disability rights law, according to state officials. Sotonwa then came to the US, graduating with a masters from Howard University’s School of Law in Washington, D.C. and later attending Northeastern.
He worked for the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing before serving as Missouri’s executive director and currently serves on the board of Telecommunication for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Inc., a national advocacy organization, state officials said.