Dickens hires administrator in Augusta as chief of staff

Ex-city manager of South Fulton returning home.

Odie Donald II, administrator of the Augusta-richmond County consolidated government, is returning to his native Atlanta to serve as Mayor Andre Dickens chief of staff.

Dickens said in a statement Friday that Donald is the right person to help him meet his administration’s goals because of his “super-charged experience.” Donald’s first day is Feb. 28.

“Mayor Dickens has one of the most ambitious agendas of any mayor in the country. To return to my hometown to join the team that will bring that agenda to fruition is a full-circle moment for me, and I am excited to get going,” Donald said in a statement.

Odie oversees the dayto-day operations of the Augusta, leading approximately 3,000 employees with a $15 billion tax digest and a $1 billion operating and capital improvements budget.

Before his stint in Augusta, Donald served as South Fulton’s first city manager. He was credited with eliminating a $25 million deficit while doubling revenues and establishing the first positive fund balance in South Fulton’s history.

Donald also worked for the

Washington, D.C., government as a state labor administrator and as the executive director of D.C.’S Workforce Investment Council. He served as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) services director in the Workforce Division for the Georgia Department of Economic Development and as executive director of Coastal Workforce Services in Savannah.

Donald played Division I basketball at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history. He earned his master’s of business administration from Georgia State University. He is a graduate of Frederick Douglass High School.