Anderson Flen

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Anderson Flen has prided himself as a bridge builder in his personal and professional life. He was born in Magazine Point Alabama (Africatown) and is a 1968 graduate of Mobile County Training School (MCTS). He served in leadership roles in high school: President of the Student Government his Junior and Senior years, quarterback of the 1966 MCTS State Champions undefeated football team and co-captain of the undefeated 1968 baseball team. He was also a member of the Math and Science clubs in high school, and a member of the first Upward Bound Program at Spring Hill College in the summer of 1967. His education was directly impacted by the culture and history of the descendants of the slave ship Clotilda, founders of Africatown. Anderson has played a foundational role in the formation of all the current community organizations in the Africatown Community, including the Mobile County Training School Alumni Association (MCTSAA). He was the first Alumni Association President of the reorganized MCTSAA and wrote its incorporation papers for its federal 501c-3 status. Anderson played a key role in organizing the Africatown Community Development Corporation (ACDC), which was formed out of the MCTSAA. He assisted in the formation of Africatown C.H.E.S.S. which stands for Community, Health, Education, Sustainable, and Safe. He helped initiate the Africatown Connections Blueway Project with the National Park Service (NPS), as President of the MCTSAA, signing the technical assistance grant in 2016 with NPS. He is playing a role in helping to make sure the community churches begin to have the technical, educational and communication networks in place to respond better to the community and the world with their stories. 

Anderson is enjoying retirement after serving 30 years in Public Health at the North Georgia Health District. In his role as Director of Health Promotions and Planning, Anderson excelled at collaborations with all levels of government and community organizations representing academia, business, non-profits, healthcare and religious institutions. His commitment to promoting and implementing best health practices for State and Federal government led him to play a critical role in bringing together all of the above stakeholders through an annual regional health educational conference that included 13 counties in the North Georgia region. Anderson created the conference to share and recognize outstanding best practices, and recognize the extraordinary efforts of the honorees. Because of his unending commitment to the community of Africatown, Mr. Flen is one of the three founders of the Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation upon its incorporation in 2019.