Local Civic Leader Becomes President of FBI National Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association

Donald Anderson, Jr., a local civic leader, St. Louis attorney, and Ellisville Municipal Judge, has taken the helm as the new president of the FBI National Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association (FBINCAAA).

The FBI Citizens’ Academy is the Bureau’s most effective tool in educating the communities it serves. The Academy gives select business, civic, and religious leaders a rare behind the scenes look inside the FBI. The purpose of the Academy, which is held once a week for eight to 10 weeks at local FBI field offices, is to educate the community and dispel myths in order to enhance trust and confidence in the FBI. After completing the Citizens’ Academy, graduates are invited to join the alumni association to continue their education and support of the mission of the FBI through its community outreach efforts and programs.

Anderson’s vision for the FBINCAAA is to work closely with the Bureau by understanding its mission and priorities in community outreach and bridge building. Anderson said, “The potential for our partnership with the premier law enforcement agency in the world is only limited by our imagination. Some of the brightest in our country are FBI Citizens’ Academy Alumni and we only need to move forward.”

Anderson’s election was announced at the association’s joint conference with the FBI Community Outreach Unit held in Kansas City June 27-July 1, 2010. In a message to the joint conference, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III stated, “If we have learned anything in recent years, it is that we cannot handle today’s diverse and dangerous threats on our own. We must work hand in hand with our partners in the law enforcement and intelligence communities. We must work with our partners overseas. But we must also work here at home, with the citizens and community organizations we serve.”

FBI St. Louis Division’s Special Agent in Charge Roland Corvington said, “Don helped open doors in the community for the FBI as the president of the St. Louis chapter. FBI field offices across the country will now benefit from his leadership and active support at the national level.”

During the joint conference, FBI employees and Citizens’ Academy alumni members participated, for the first time ever, in a Community Engagement Project. With the help of other local partners, the project was the first step in transforming a neglected soccer field in Belvidere Park in northeast Kansas City into a state-of-the-art facility for the young children in that neighborhood which is plagued by crime, drugs, and gang activity. There are more than 54 foreign languages spoken by residents in Belvidere Park.

To date, more than 13,000 civic, religious, and business leaders graduated from the FBI Citizens’ Academy, which started in 1993. To participate in the Academy, the assistant director in charge or special agent in charge of each of the 56 field offices selects from a pool of applicants nominated by an FBI employee or Citizens’ Academy alumni member.

FBI Assistant Director Office of Public Affairs Michael P. Kortan (left)
congratulates Donald Anderson, Jr. as the newly elected president
of the FBI National Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association.