David Niose - American Humanist Association

David Niose

David Niose is a past president of the American Humanist Association (2009-2012) and former legal director of the Appignani Humanist Legal Center (2014-2019).

A lawyer who has litigated cases all over the country, including numerous constitutional cases on behalf of the AHA, Niose has also worked in print and broadcasting media and taught both history and law. He has written extensively on a wide array of issues for numerous publications, including Salon, Huffington Post, Truthout, Washington Post, and many others, and has appeared on numerous national and local media outlets discussing legal and political issues. Niose is the author of Nonbeliever Nation: The Rise of Secular Americans (Palgrave Macmillan) and Fighting Back the Right: Reclaiming America from the Attack on Reason (St. Martin’s Press). He also blogs for Psychology Today.

Upon joining the AHA board in 2005, Niose initiated and helped develop the AHA’s media campaign. Niose has spoken to groups around the country, emphasizing the importance of utilizing mass media to inject humanist ideas into the public dialogue, improve the public image of humanists, and sway public opinion away from the religious right.

He is a founding member of Greater Worcester Humanists, has also served as an officer and board member of Greater Boston Humanists, and is the immediate past president of the AHA Board.

His speaking interests include church-state separation, humanist activism, anti-intellectualism, media and journalism, religion and philosophy, and culture war issues. Honorarium terms can be discussed on an individual basis.