[10] She served as RISCC's executive minister, a role in which she acted as a "face" of the organization,[1] which in 2012 represented churches from thirteen Protestant and eight Orthodox denominations in addition to seven church-affiliated groups.
[6] In this capacity, she was among the opponents of legislative efforts in 2008 allowing 24-hour gambling in two casinos in the state;[11] spoke in favor of a 2011 lawsuit against the city of Cranston by the American Civil Liberties Union to remove a prayer banner displayed in Cranston High School West (Ahlquist v. Cranston);[4] was among religious leaders who gave testimony at the Rhode Island State House in favor of a 2013 same-sex marriage bill;[12] and led interfaith sanctuary church efforts in 2017.
[1] She was nearly 70 years old when she told her family she was transgender,[3] and she made her identity public knowledge in May 2018, when she announced her intent to take a three-month sabbatical to begin her male-to-female gender transition through the summer.
Allen Waters, a former Republican who was running in the race, said in an open letter to the caucus that he would not participate because Anderson was transgender.
Waters's remarks were rebuked by Anderson and other candidates including local and state political figures Aaron Regunberg, Sabina Matos, Gabe Amo, and John Goncalves.