Thereโs been a leadership shift inside Atlanta City Hall. Courtney English โ the Cityโs Chief Policy Officer and a familiar name in local education and housing circles โ is now serving as Interim Chief of Staff for Mayor Andre Dickens.
Heโs stepping in after Odie Donald, who held the post for the past year and a half, accepted a new opportunity in Richmond, Virginia. Though the title is new, the workโand the missionโare nothing new for English.
Over the past few years, heโs helped steer some of the Mayorโs most ambitious efforts: from putting more than 11,000 new affordable housing units on track, to launching the โYear of the Youthโ campaign that invested over $30 million in programs for young people โ and helped drive youth-related crime down by more than 50 percent.
โSince day one of my administration, Courtney has been a trusted advisor, agile leader, and passionate champion of the transformational public policy initiatives that are Moving Atlanta Forward,โ Mayor Dickens said. โCourtney brings a depth of experience and commitment to his new responsibilities and motivates his teams to achieve our goals.โ
Heโs been behind the scenes shaping crime reduction strategies that donโt rely on policing alone, and pushing forward investments in neighborhoods that have long gone without. And heโs done it all with his policy hat on โ a hat heโs still wearing even as he takes on the Chief of Staff role.
Born and raised in the West End, English started out as a public school teacher. At 24, he was elected citywide to the Atlanta Board of Education โ and later became its youngest-ever chair. His career since then has crossed education, housing, and public service, always with a focus on equity and opportunity.
In this new role, English oversees the Mayorโs Executive Offices and legislative priorities, working alongside the senior leadership team to keep Atlanta moving forward. He says his focus remains on making the city the best place in the country to raise a child.