Chemical Engineering alumnus, Andre Dickens, was sworn in on January 6 to the Atlanta City Council as the Post 3-At Large council member. He defeated longtime incumbent council member H. Lamar Willis in the November 2013 election. He will serve a four-year term.

Dickens earned a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1998. While at Georgia Tech, he held various leadership roles. Positions included: President of the African American Student Union, President of the Diversity Forum, and President of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. As a result of his outstanding contributions to the University, Andre was also inducted into the ANAK Society– Georgia Tech’s highest honor.

In 1994, Dickens began his professional career as a Chemical Engineer for BP-Amoco. In 1999, Dickens began work as a Sales Engineer for DSM Engineering Plastics. While at DSM, Dickens became the youngest person and first African-American to win DSM’s prestigious salesperson of the year award in 2002.

In 2002, he co-founded City Living Home Furnishings in Atlanta, a family-run operation that grew into a multi-million dollar business with two locations and over 20 employees. City Living won numerous awards including Atlanta’s Best Contemporary Furniture store (2005) and one of the top 50 furniture retailers in the nation by Home Accents magazine. Dickens oversaw City Living’s operations, finance, and marketing efforts until 2010.

That year, Dickens decided to return to his alma mater to serve as the Assistant Director of Outreach Initiatives for Georgia Tech’s OMED: Educational Services, a department within the Office of Institute Diversity. In this role, he manages the graduate recruitment program and helps hundreds of undergraduate students and their parents successfully transition into college life.

The Atlanta City Council is the main municipal legislative body for the city of Atlanta, Georgia. It consists of 15 members elected from districts within the city. The Atlanta City Government is divided into three bodies: the legislative, executive and judicial branches. The Atlanta City Council serves as the legislative branch.

Article courtesy of the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech.