Bolstein was appointed chairperson of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) by Gov. Tom Wolf in October 2018 and continues to serve in that capacity. As chairperson, he helps oversee a statewide organization that receives $10 million-plus in state and federal funding and employs more than 80 paid professional staff to develop state regulations and policy and investigate and adjudicate claims of discrimination in housing, employment, education and public accommodations. In 2019, Joel spent more than 500 hours working on commission business in an unpaid, volunteer capacity.

While serving as interim chair of PHRC, Bolstein worked with professional staff at PHRC to enact a policy change that allows LGBTQ individuals in Pennsylvania to file claims of discrimination in employment, housing, educational opportunities and public accommodations as discrimination based on “sex,” which is a protected class under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. That bold action expanded anti-discrimination protections to LGTBQ citizens across all Pennsylvania jurisdictions, not just those with local protective ordinances. Prior to this policy enactment, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act did not include sexual orientation or gender identity and expression as a protected class, and meaningful legislation has been, and continues to be, stymied in Harrisburg.