Canon Anderson is known in the Episcopal Church as a champion for the ministry of the laity, an advocate for marginalized people, and a skilled community organizer. She presided over the 800+ members of the House of Deputies from 2006-2012. Her advocacy for the environment and the people most directly affected by environmental degradation earned her a gubernatorial appointment to the Michigan Environmental Review Board.
Prior to her election, Anderson served as vice president of the HOD; chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance; an Executive Council member; and an Executive Council elected representative to The Episcopal Church Investment Committee. In her home Diocese of Michigan, she has held positions including Canon to the Ordinary, President of the Standing Committee, and Chair of Constitution and Canons.
Anderson has served as adjunct lecturer at the University of Michigan. She has been awarded honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from EDS and the University of the South, Sewanee, and honorary Doctor of Canon Law degrees from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and General Theological Seminary.
She lives with her husband and son in Michigan. Bonnie and her husband have been married for 58 years. They have two daughters and three grandchildren.