Biography

Joe Sommer is an attorney with the state government of Ohio. He obtained a B.B.A. from Ohio University and a J.D. from the University of Toledo. He is admitted to the bar in Ohio and California, and is certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a specialist in workers' compensation law.

A former activist for many years with the Humanist Community of Central Ohio, he served on its board and held the offices of president, vice president, and secretary. He is a longtime member of the American Humanist Association, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (currently serving on its national board), and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The American Humanist Association certified him as an Advocate for the Humanist philosophy.

He is a volunteer attorney for the American Humanist Association's Appignani Humanist Legal Center and the Columbus Bar Association's Homelessness Project. He is a board member and vice president for the Center for Effective Discipline, which operates the programs End Physical Punishment of Children (EPOCH, USA) and the National Coalition to Abolish Corporal Punishment in Schools (NCACPS). He is a board member for Common Cause/Ohio. He also is on the Workers' Compensation Committee of the Columbus Bar Association.