Adrian is the Executive Director of the Colorado Council of Churches. He is the first African American and the first layperson to hold that position. He is also a culinary historian, certified barbecue judge and author of “Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time” and “The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, from the Washingtons to the Obama.” “Soul Food” won the 2014 James Beard Foundation Book Award for Reference and Scholarship.