Dr. Opeoluwa Sotonwa is the founder of the Opeoluwa Sotonwa Foundation. He was born in Ijebu Ode and attended Ijebu Ode Local Government Primary School, Obalende, and Adeola Odutola College. He also attended the Federal College of Education (Special) Oyo and obtained NCE Certificate in Special Education. He later proceeded to the University of Ilorin to study Law, where he obtained his LL. B degree. He was called to Nigerian Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
An accomplished international thought leader, Dr. Sotonwa became deaf at sixteen and had to withdraw from school. He had first-hand experiences of discrimination against people with disabilities. These experiences shaped his life’s passion for public services and using his God-given talents to fight for the less privileged. Since becoming a lawyer in Nigeria, Dr. Sotonwa has been involved with disability rights issues. He was instrumental in the drafting and passage of the Nigerian disability rights law. Dr. Sotonwa has played critical roles within and outside Deaf communities in the United States and African countries. He was formerly the Vice President of National Black Deaf Advocates (NBDA), the United States’ foremost civil rights organization serving the Black Deaf community. He also served as the Chair of the NBDA Board of Directors. Dr. Sotonwa is a board member of several think-tank organizations that focus on disability rights advocacy around the world.
Dr. Sotonwa currently serves as the Honorable Commissioner of the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. He has dedicated his tenure to partnering with purposeful organizations, community leaders, and sister agencies to improve the quality of life for the Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Late-Deafened individuals in the Commonwealth. He is a passionate advocate for responsive government to the needs of the underserved community.
In Missouri, USA, he was involved in the drafting and passage of over twenty pieces of legislation – some of which have established hearing aids distribution programs for Low-Income, the establishment of a statewide support service program for the Deafblind to live an independent life, and a Commercial Driver License law that paved the way for Deaf people to obtain commercial driver licenses, 911 service legislation that repositioned the state’s ailing 911 Service for Next-Generation 911 service, overhauling of the state Interpreters Certification System, and statewide data of Deaf and Hard of Hearing population, to mention among others. He held two gubernatorial appointments as a board member of the 911 Service Board and the Governor’s Council on Disability. He was a member of the Relay Missouri Advisory Committee, the Missouri Department of Mental Health Deaf Advisory Council, and the Missouri Deaf-Blind Technical Assistance Project Advisory Committee.
Dr. Sotonwa holds an LL.M. Degree (Master of Laws) from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C, USA. He also holds an LP.D. Degree (Doctor of Law and Policy) from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. A recipient of numerous awards, he was most recently honored with the 2020 Judge Arnold Krekel Trailblazer Award for Human Rights.