C. Joan Parker has been the Administrative Law Judge with the West Virginia Human Rights Commission since January 2022. Before that, her public interest career included service as a legal aid attorney and a public defender. She spent over a decade litigating discrimination complaints for the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities before returning home where she later served as Executive Director of the West Virginia Ethics Commission. Joan graduated second in her class from Davis and Elkins College (Elkins, West Virginia) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science, with a minor in music. She earned her Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center. She joined NAHO in 2022 and in 2023 she completed NAHO’s certification program. She joined the NAHO News Editorial Board in 2024. Joan serves as co-secretary of the WV State Bar’s Government Lawyers Committee and chairs the ALJ Subcommittee.