Plainfield, NJ — Mike Anderson, a Harvard University graduate in Government, lifelong New Jersey activist, and community advocate, is preparing a run for Congress in New Jersey’s 12th District. His remarkable story in the district starts in Plainfield & North Plainfield public schools, legislative battles in Trenton and Somerset, and is shaped by deep personal and community experiences. Anderson enters the race emphasizing affordability, housing stability, civil rights, and government accountability—issues that continue to resonate across the district.

Anderson’s life story reflects the resilience of the communities he seeks to represent. His father was killed when he was five years old, and his mother—a nurse and labor union leader—raised him in New Jersey’s public school system.

Anderson is now a father himself, embodying a “from nothing to something” journey that mirrors the aspirations of many families in NJ-12. His wife is a first-generation American from Colombia, and together they speak Mandarin, Spanish, and English with their 5 year old daughter and son, giving them firsthand understanding of immigration, civil rights, and economic struggle amidst the housing crisis.

An internationally recognized consumer protection civil rights advocate, Anderson has led and won significant legal actions in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, including a landmark case against Whole Foods, and has backed numerous legal matters advancing consumer protection and civil rights for disadvantaged plaintiffs, children, and families. His commitment to justice began early: as a teenager he earned the Paul Robeson Award and was recognized by the NAACP and AFL-CIO for his leadership and activism.

Professionally, Anderson began his career in finance on Wall Street, interning at Merrill Lynch in Plainsboro before working in Investment Banking at NYC. He later transitioned into socially impactful venture capital and global ministry, focusing on economic inclusion and community development, most recently as Chief Philanthropic Officer of an international impact investment crypto and ai foundation. He is the grandson of Bishop Edward Philson, a pioneer who founded Plainfield’s Rose of Sharon Community Church, and he continues that legacy through tangible results.

His C4 global ministry, Culture X Capital = Community Change movement and ministry has been recognized at G20 Week, United Nations, African Union, Davos World Economic Forum Week, Qatar Economic Forum, Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi Finance Weeks, The Vatican, Arab-China Summit, and many more prominent international forums from Singapore, Dubai, Washington, to Palau.

Among his Federal accomplishments, Anderson played a key role in bringing New Jersey’s first federally backed Innovation Centers focused on minority entrepreneurs to Newark and Camden. A renowned tech innovator, he designed federal efforts to digitize access to capital for minority-owned small and medium-sized businesses and has advised state and local governments nationwide on early-stage investing in underserved communities. His 2020 testimony before the New Jersey Legislature’s Joint Committee on Economic Justice and Equal Opportunity helped create the framework for State and local government-sponsored entrepreneurship investment, and he was also a major contributor to cannabis legalization and equity efforts in New Jersey.

Recognized by multiple administrations as a leading technology innovator, Anderson has advised the co-creators of the JOBS Act to empower Billions of small business investment with leading crowdfunding platform Republic.com, which is driving billions of dollars toward startups and emerging communities. Anderson’s policy and advocacy work has already changed practices related to wrongful detainment across New Jersey’s public and private sectors.

Beyond policy and law, Anderson is known to New Jersey families and children as the author of the free young adult novel Misadventures of the American Dreamer, which was named Book of the Year and donated to at-risk youth in group homes and correctional facilities. He is also a yoga and mindfulness instructor who has served urban neighborhoods from Newark to Plainfield.

Anderson has advised organizations including Mindfulness Capital, Republic, and NJ’s leading urban Yoga and meditation movements, and operates a prison ministry, as well as building bridges between civil rights groups and local police, as well as public safety forces outside NJ including FBI, CMPD, LAPD.

Positioning himself as a people-first, non-establishment candidate, Anderson’s campaign focuses on local concerns often overshadowed by national politics—cost-of-living pressures, property taxes, healthcare access, and the real-world impact of state and federal policy on everyday residents. His candidacy reflects growing voter interest in community-rooted leadership and accountability. He’s a proud survivor of the working poor, and understands the journey from food stamps to philanthropy, and growing pains that relate to many across the district ignored by career politicians.

Recent coverage highlights Anderson’s role in launching New Jersey’s first Minority business offices across the state—partnerships he intends to replicate and expand in NJ-12 to strengthen small business development across the district, and his $100 Billion investment plan launched on Fintech.TV at New York Stock Exchange. He intends to fund American entrepreneurship and social programs through the first domestic innovation sovereign wealth fund, leading a bipartisan initiative making ordinary Americans thrive instead of just Wall Street elites.