Anita Burson has dedicated her life to empowering disenfranchised citizens, improving her community and strengthening her church. The first child of a distinguished Baptist minister and church leader, Anita was born at the segregated Jubilee Hospital in Henderson, North Carolina, to Rev. Dr. O. B. J. Burson and Katie Leak Burson, an educator and engineer.

Anita is a direct Native American descendant. A child of the parsonage during the turbulent last days of de facto segregation, Anita was privileged to witness daily the planning and activities involved in the fight for desegregation. Her father was a regional officer of the NAACP and a stalwart advocate of the NAACP. She was also privileged to meet and hear some of the great pulpiteers and civil rights leaders of the time, who were often guests in the family home. Anita was immersed in religious activity, as well as education and civic awareness. One of her strongest memories of the struggle for civil rights was the evening white supremacist terrorists fired bullets into the church her father pastored in Coley Springs, North Carolina. This took place while an integrated prayer rally and training sessions for voter registration and civil demonstrations were in progress. Those bullets remain lodged in the doors of that church sanctuary today.

Anita attended public schools in North Carolina and Virginia, where she was one of the first students to integrate a Summer Enrichment Program for gifted students. Later, the family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where she completed high school. While still a high school student, she organized the first on-site voter registration campaign for 18-year-olds at her high school. During her college career, she became the first Black woman to serve as an elected student officer at Finch College, and the first to earn a position on the Academic Council. Anita graduated from Finch/Marymount Manhattan College with a Bachelors Degree in Cultural Anthropology and Sociology.

In 1977, Anita was elected to Community School Board 17, and became a member of the first Black majority in New York City's Crown Heights-Flatbush district in Brooklyn. She served as an officer on that body's executive board. Later, as a political campaign professional, she worked for President Jimmy Carter. She has served as a consultant to candidates for federal, statewide and municipal legislative offices and other positions.

The Rev. O. B. J. Burson's role as a religious and civic leader ushered Anita into a life of community awareness and commitment. She is a legacy of both the Baptist and AME Zion denominations. She is the great-great-granddaughter of Rev. Washington Leak and great-granddaughter of Rev. Thomas J. Leak, two prominent AME Zion leaders and educators. She is a fourth generation member of the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc. (NBC,USA); her paternal great-grandfather and his brother were present at its original meetings. Continuing that legacy, in 1992 and 1993, Anita became the first external consultant (in 112 years) for The NBC, U.S.A., to coordinate convention activity for its annual board meeting and annual session held in New York City .

With nearly 25 years of experience in all aspects of professional campaign management and not-for-profit organizational development, Anita's professional acumen has been enhanced by her experiences. She is noted for her creative concepts and approaches to building sustainable relationships and enhancing networks between the public and private sector and religious organizations.

Anita is a licensed preacher of the gospel, a frequent panelist at various forums and speaker at churches. She is also often called upon to speak at special events within local communities around the nation. Anita is a full time seminary student at the Andover Newton Theological School, America’s oldest theological school.