The award honors an American Baptist who has made an outstanding contribution in ecumenical work at the local, state, national or international level, either as a volunteer or as a paid professional.

Anderson has served as the executive minister of the RISCC since 2007. Through the Council, he is working to strengthen Rhode Island’s human trafficking laws and is serving on an interfaith steering committee seeking to reduce poverty in the state by 50% in the next ten years.

Anderson has devoted his life to efforts of this nature. He began his career teaching in a program that was part of Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty.” He has pastored churches in Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as Rhode Island. In addition, Anderson has served in administrative positions in religious organizations of higher education, publishing and denominational ministry.

Active in a number of civic organizations, Anderson is currently the president of the Rotary Club of East Greenwich, RI, as well as serving on the board of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, and the Governor’s Panel on Immigration Issues.

Recently, Anderson chaired a Task Force on Elderly Affairs, as well as the Juvenile Hearing Board, and served as police chaplain in East Greenwich, RI.

Anderson holds a B.A. in Business Education from Barrington College, an M.A. in Religious Studies from Providence College, and a D.Min. from Eastern Baptist (now Palmer) Theological Seminary.

Raised in Cranston, RI, Anderson and his wife, Debra, have four adult children.

American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with 5,500 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.