Joseph O. Anderson was born and raised in Gary, Indiana. Joseph came to Washington, DC in 1986 to attend Howard University where he studied chemistry. He met his wife, Maria in 1993. They were married in 1996 at the Schrader Lane church in Nashville, TN. Joseph was baptized into Christ in 1995 at the Southeast church, and later attended the Beltway and Prince George’s congregations where he served as teacher and director of educational programs. The family came to Silver Spring congregation in 2009. Joseph served as a deacon from 2011 to 2015 and has worked very closely with the Youth and Adult Development ministries. Joseph’s professional career includes supporting the US Department of Defense in areas of Emergency Preparedness and Counter-Terrorism. He currently works on medical countermeasures to prevent, mitigate, and respond to chemical warfare exposure. The Andersons have two daughters, Cameron and Chloe.