2023 Men of the Year: Anthony Roberts

A little-known fact about Anthony Roberts is his 26-year career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and he credits the work as shaping his leadership skills.

Roberts was stationed in Springfield, at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, where he began working as a medical technologist in the clinical laboratory and progressed to finish as a health services administrator. One stint was as a trainer for newly appointed supervisors. In that job, Roberts instructed and mentored over 100 supervisors across 15 comprehensive courses.

“It allowed me to directly contribute to cultivating future leaders within the prison system,” he says.

During his time at the Fed Med, Roberts had a unique opportunity in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that he says also served as leadership training. In January 2002, he traveled to ground zero and provided overnight crisis support and counseling to New York City emergency responders.

“The resilience and selflessness exhibited by these individuals in giving back to their city left an indelible impression on me,” he says.

Roberts now serves as executive director of Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, where he started in 2012 as senior director of quality assurance. Two years later, he was named to the top spot.

He’s leaned on his experiences at the Fed Med – and his family’s upbringing – to lead the 170-employee nonprofit to ensure blood supplies are collected and follow safety and quality procedures on their way to over 40 health care facilities in southwest Missouri, northwest Arkansas and southeast Kansas. That amounts to more than 50,000 donations of blood each year to meet transfusion needs throughout its 40-county footprint.

Roberts says he focuses on the staff’s needs and desires, so they can complete their jobs to the best of their abilities. He makes it personal.

“Drawing upon the valuable lessons instilled in me by my mother, who emphasized the significance of knowing individuals by name and establishing genuine connections, I have made it a daily practice to engage with our workforce on a personal level,” Roberts says. “I am dedicated to creating an environment where every employee feels heard, supported and appreciated by the executive team at the blood center,” he says, noting it’s resulted in a positive work environment and a sense of belonging among staff.

One way Roberts connects outside of CBCO is through Springfield Sunrise Rotary Club. A member since 2012, he serves as its sergeant of arms, building camaraderie and raising funds. The past four years, he’s led Sunrise’s Character Education program with Wilson’s Creek Intermediate School, where Rotary members plan and deliver lessons in the classroom under Roberts’ coordination.

“Throughout the past year, we focused on a series of words that served as a foundation for character growth,” he says, citing the terms prepared, respectful, involved, determined and empathetic. “These words encapsulated the qualities we sought to nurture with the students.”