Texas-Based Legal Scholar & Public Speaker
Joseph Baker
AAS · BS · MPA · MS Legal Studies
Transforming Complex Legal Realities Into Actionable Community Knowledge
Joseph Baker is a Texas-based legal scholar and housing law specialist with more than 15 years of experience navigating landlord–tenant disputes, eviction defense, and HUD housing programs. Having worked on over 9,000 cases, Joseph brings a rare combination of academic rigor and real-world expertise to every presentation, workshop, and community event. His academic foundation includes four degrees from Purdue University Global, culminating in a Master of Science in Legal Studies (2026). This multidisciplinary training informs his ability to break down complex legal systems — from Texas eviction statutes to Section 8 administrative procedures — into clear, practical guidance for tenants, advocates, and policymakers. Joseph's work centers on tenant rights, housing stability, civic empowerment, and equitable access to justice. Whether speaking to community groups, nonprofits, or government agencies, he delivers grounded, actionable insights shaped by thousands of real cases and a deep understanding of Texas housing realities.
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AAS
Paralegal Studies
2017
BS
Legal Studies
2021
MPA
Public Administration
2025
MS
Legal Studies
2026
15+
Years in Housing Law
9,000+
Cases Navigated
40,000+
Tenants Counseled
4
Purdue Degrees Earned
Areas of Expertise
Deep Knowledge. Real-World Experience.
Joseph's presentations draw on years of frontline casework, graduate-level scholarship, and community advocacy — bridging theory and practice in every engagement.
Housing Law & Eviction Defense
Deep expertise in Texas Property Code, eviction proceedings, tenant rights, and the legal mechanisms that protect — or fail — vulnerable renters across the state.
Public Policy & Administration
Graduate-level analysis of housing policy, municipal governance, and the systemic forces shaping affordable housing access in Texas and nationally.
Civic Empowerment & Community Advocacy
Practical frameworks for community organizations, faith communities, and civic groups to mobilize around housing justice, voter rights, and political engagement.
Racial Equity in Housing
Data-driven examination of racial disparities in eviction rates, housing discrimination complaints, and the intersection of race, poverty, and housing instability.
Redistricting & Voting Rights
Analysis of how redistricting shapes political representation for low-income and minority communities, and the legal tools available under the Voting Rights Act.
Legal Research & Document Preparation
Practical education on how tenants can use legal research, document preparation, and self-representation to navigate the court system effectively.
Who He Speaks To
Built for Every Community
Universities & Colleges
Faith Communities & Churches
Community Organizations
Legal Aid & Nonprofits
Government Agencies
Civic & Political Groups
Conferences & Symposia
High Schools & Youth Programs
Re-Entry Organizations
Youth & Adult Correctional Facilities
Signature Presentations
Speaking Topics
Each presentation is tailored to your audience and goals. Custom topics are available upon request.
The Eviction Crisis in Texas: What Communities Must Know
Housing & EvictionA comprehensive look at Texas eviction law, tenant rights under Property Code §24.011, and what families can do when facing removal from their homes.
Community organizations, churches, legal aid groups, social service agencies
Fighting Back: Paralegal Tools for Tenant Defense
Housing & EvictionHow paralegal document preparation and legal research empower tenants to represent themselves effectively in eviction court — and win.
Faith communities, neighborhood associations, tenant advocacy groups
Housing Policy & the Politics of Displacement
Public PolicyAn academic and practitioner's view of how local, state, and federal housing policy decisions drive displacement — and what policy reforms could reverse the trend.
Universities, policy institutes, government agencies, civic organizations
Public Administration and the Housing Crisis
Public PolicyHow municipal and county governments can use administrative tools, zoning reform, and public investment to address housing instability at scale.
Government agencies, academic institutions, policy conferences
Know Your Rights: Civic Power for Renters
Civic EmpowermentAn accessible, action-oriented workshop on tenant rights, voting rights, and how community members can engage the political process to protect their homes.
Churches, community centers, libraries, neighborhood groups
Race, Poverty, and the Eviction Machine
Racial EquityData-driven examination of racial disparities in Texas eviction filings, the legacy of housing discrimination, and pathways toward equitable housing policy.
Universities, civil rights organizations, diversity and equity conferences
Breaking the Cycle: Housing Stability & Re-Entry
Civic EmpowermentA frank, practical conversation on how housing instability and eviction records trap formerly incarcerated individuals in cycles of recidivism — and what re-entry organizations, facilities, and communities can do to interrupt that cycle through legal education, advocacy, and housing access.
Re-entry organizations, correctional facilities, youth programs, faith communities, social service agencies
Academic Credentials
AAS — Paralegal Studies
Purdue University Global · 2017
BS — Legal Studies
Purdue University Global · 2021
MPA — Public Administration
Purdue University Global · 2025
MS — Legal Studies
Purdue University Global · 2026
About the Speaker
Joseph Baker
Legal Scholar • Paralegal Scholar • Housing Advocate • Public Speaker
Joseph Baker is a legal scholar, paralegal expert, and housing justice advocate with more than 15 years of experience navigating the Texas eviction system. As the founder of Texas Tenants Benefits Services, he has supported over 9,000 clients through eviction proceedings and provided rights-based guidance to more than 40,000 tenants across the state.
Joseph's academic foundation includes four degrees from Purdue University Global: an AAS in Paralegal Studies (2017), a BS in Legal Studies (2021), a Master of Public Administration (2025), and an MS in Legal Studies (2026). This combination of graduate-level legal scholarship and frontline paralegal practice gives his work a rare balance of academic depth, policy insight, and real-world applicability.
As a legal scholar, Joseph examines how housing law, public policy, and court systems shape community outcomes. As a paralegal scholar, he brings procedural fluency, case-based expertise, and hands-on experience from thousands of eviction matters.
Joseph's speaking engagements draw from lived experience in Houston's housing courts, data-driven research on racial disparities in eviction filings, and a deep commitment to civic empowerment. He translates complex legal systems — from Texas landlord–tenant statutes to federal housing program regulations — into clear, actionable knowledge for communities, advocates, and institutions.
Joseph is available for keynote addresses, panel discussions, workshops, and community education sessions across Texas and nationwide. His audiences include universities, faith organizations, nonprofits, neighborhood associations, and public agencies seeking informed, accessible, and impactful housing law education.
"Every tenant deserves to walk into that courtroom knowing their rights — and knowing someone prepared them to fight."
— Joseph Baker
The Foundation
Faith, Prayer & the Power of God's Grace
Before the degrees, before the courtrooms, before the 9,000 cases — there was a foundation. Joseph Baker speaks openly about how God became the bedrock of his life, and how faith continues to shape every dimension of his work and purpose.
I didn't get here on my own. Every door that opened, every case I was able to fight, every family I was able to help — God was in it. Prayer isn't something I do before I start my day. It is my day. It is how I think, how I prepare, how I show up for people who have nowhere else to turn. From the moment I get that call from a tenant who is terrified, I'm not just bringing legal knowledge. I'm bringing the peace of empowerment that comes from knowing I was called to this work.
Joseph Baker
In His Own Words
God as Foundation
Joseph shares how a personal relationship with God became the anchor of his life — not a background belief, but an active, daily source of strength, clarity, and direction.
Prayer as Practice
From preparing case documents to standing before a judge, prayer is woven into Joseph's professional life. He speaks candidly about what it means to seek guidance before every major decision.
Spiritual Growth as Discipline
Joseph's academic journey and his faith journey have grown in parallel. He speaks to how spiritual maturity — humility, perseverance, service — has made him a better advocate, scholar, and leader.
Joseph is available to share his testimony at faith communities, re-entry programs, youth events, and any gathering where people need to hear that transformation is possible — and that God meets people exactly where they are.
Book Joseph for Your EventIn His Own Words
A Conversation with Joseph Baker
Joseph shares the experiences, convictions, and scholarship that drive his work — in housing courts, in classrooms, and in communities across Texas.
What drew you to housing law and tenant advocacy?
I grew up watching families lose their homes — not because they did anything wrong, but because they didn't know their rights. The law was written in a language most people never learned. I decided early on that I wanted to be the person who translated that language into something communities could actually use. Every case I take is a chance to level a playing field that was never level to begin with.
How does your academic background shape the way you speak to audiences?
The four degrees gave me frameworks — ways of seeing housing not just as a legal problem but as a policy problem, a racial equity problem, an administrative problem. When I stand in front of a community organization or a university class, I'm not just reciting statutes. I'm connecting what's happening in eviction cases in Texas courthouses to what's happening in Texas Legislation and in Washington, D.C., in Congress, to what happened in the design and passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and to what's in the data right now. That's what the scholarship makes possible.
Why is re-entry such an important part of your speaking work?
Because an eviction record and a criminal record are two sides of the same trap. When someone comes home from incarceration and can't rent an apartment, can't get stable housing, the odds of returning to the system skyrocket. Nobody talks about that connection enough. I want to be in those facilities — talking to young people, talking to adults — before they leave, so they know what their rights are, what resources exist, and that someone is in their corner. Stable housing is the foundation of everything else.
What do you want audiences to walk away feeling?
Equipped and empowered to act — equipped and empowered. I want someone to leave my talk knowing fear will no longer keep them hostage from the promises GOD truly has for them. Use that knowledge to electrify their journey to meet their challenges and win. Whether that's getting free within themselves, or taking a risk to start a new career or business, even mending a bad relationship. Realizing they belong and they matter, with a past criminal record, eviction, bankruptcy, foreclosure, suicide attempt, scandal of shame, or not, they matter. Get involved in civic engagement, keep learning, and remember: knowledge that stays in the room doesn't help anyone. Now go out and shock the world with your value!
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