Joe Mead; CSU Urban Studies and Law Professor, Avid Bird Watcher, and Advocate for the Homeless.

Joe has been working in the Campus District for the past five years as a professor, teaching full time at Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He teaches mainly at the graduate and law levels with a focus in nonprofit law. Some of his courses include Civil Law, Fundamentals of Nonprofit Administration & Leadership and a Columbus Seminar, in which students have an opportunity of spending their spring break in Columbus examining state policy-making, legislative, and judicial processes.

Prior to his time at Cleveland State, Joe served as an Honors Program Trial Attorney for the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. His time there consisted of defending the constitutionality of federal laws, along with advising and representing the White House and other federal agencies in constitutional and other complex litigation across the country. Mead also spent time working as a clerk for Judges Cornelia Kennedy and David Lawson in his home state of Michigan prior to working in D.C.

This valuable experience in the courtroom has played a part in allowing Joe to fulfill some of his passions. One of those passions includes his students. Joe enjoys working with his students loves being able to see them reach their full potential.

In 2016, Joe was named Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless’ ‘Advocate of the Year’ for his work representing the interests of homeless and low income people in Greater Cleveland and Akron. Joe was recognized for his work in protecting those sleeping outside in Akron, protecting domestic violence victims in the suburbs of Cleveland and protecting free speech on sidewalks in Youngstown, Akron and Cleveland.

Outside of his work, Joe enjoys hiking and birdwatching. One of his favorite spots for these activities is the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. As someone who has spent the past five years working in the Campus District, Joe has liked to see the new restaurants popping up throughout the area, including Bloom Bakery and Constantino’s Cafe on Euclid Avenue. Mead says he’d love to see more park space open up and more student housing come in throughout the Campus District in years to come.

Article by: Connor O’Brien