Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens named one of his top advisers, Courtney English, as interim chief of staff for the city Monday after the position became vacant last month.
Former chief of staff Odie Donald resigned in June to take on a new role as chief administrative officer for the city of Richmond, Virginia.
English is a former Atlanta Board of Education chair and affordable housing expert who entered the Dickens administration in 2022 as the chief policy officer and senior adviser to the mayor.
As policy advisor, English’s team — which has doubled in size since 2023, from around 30 staff members to more than 60, according to payroll records — focuses on major public policy initiatives surrounding affordable housing, economic development, youth engagement and neighborhood revitalization.
Some of English’s accomplishments include assisting in the creation of 11,000 affordable housing units and launching more than $30 million in “Year of the Youth” initiatives.
“Since Day One of my administration, Courtney has been a trusted adviser, agile leader, and passionate champion of the transformational public policy initiatives that are Moving Atlanta Forward,” the mayor said in a statement. “Courtney brings a depth of experience and commitment to his new responsibilities and motivates his teams to achieve our goals.”
Credit: Bob Andres
Credit: Bob Andres
English was first elected to the school board in 2009 at 24 years old — making him the youngest Atlantan ever elected to office — and went on to become the youngest chair in 2014.
He narrowly lost a bid for Atlanta City Council at-large Post 1 to longtime Councilmember Michael Julian Bond in 2017, and ran an unsuccessful campaign for Atlanta City Council president during the open race in 2021.
English said in a statement that, in the new role, he will remain “hyper-focused on executing the Mayor’s vision of making Atlanta the best place in the country to raise a child.”
“Over the next few months, I look forward to working with our senior leadership team to ensure that the Mayor’s Executive Offices are functioning in the most optimal manner,” he added.
While on the school board, English faced two ethics complaints, one related to misuse of an APS credit card in 2010 and the other in 2012 over an employment conflict of interest.
English also worked as the director of community development for Star-C, a regional affordable housing and education nonprofit. His relationship with the nonprofit was recently questioned by the city’s Office of Inspector General after the city approved a $2 million donation to Star-C.
English told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he was not an active member of the nonprofit at the time of the donation and resigned immediately per Ethics Office guidance.
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