Mayor Andre Dickens Announces New Housing Leadership Team to Advance Atlanta’s Affordable Housing Vision Amanda Rhein named Chief Housing Officer

Mayor's Office of Communications

Mayor Andre Dickens Announces New Housing Leadership Team to Advance Atlanta's Affordable Housing Vision

Amanda Rhein named Chief Housing Officer
Chatiqua Ellison, Deputy Chief and Senior Advisor to the Mayor on Homelessness

ATLANTA - Mayor Andre Dickens today announced Amanda Rhein as Chief Housing Officer and several key appointments to the City's housing leadership team positioning Atlanta at the forefront of equitable and innovative housing solutions nationwide.

Rhein, who currently serves as Executive Director of the Atlanta Land Trust, brings more than two decades of experience in equitable development, affordable housing, and community revitalization. Her leadership transformed the Atlanta Land Trust into a nationally recognized model, with over 100 homes currently in trust and 100 more in development. Rhein is also a current member of the Mayors Affordable Housing Taskforce that has produced 12,000 units of housing in under four years.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Ms. Rhein graduated from Boston College with a bachelor's degree in sociology in 2002. She earned a Master of City and Regional Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2004.

Prior to joining the Atlanta Land Trust, Ms. Rhein led the transit-oriented development (TOD) initiative at MARTA, resulting in the redevelopment of over 35 acres of underutilized surface parking at eight heavy rail stations. Ms. Rhein also spent nearly a decade at Invest Atlanta, where she managed more than 30 projects and drove $3.5 billion in investment into the city's most underserved communities. Ms. Rhein is also active in the Urban Land Institute where she is Chair of the Atlanta District Council and a member of the Livable Communities Council. During her tenure as the inaugural co-chair of the ULI Atlanta Center for Leadership, she designed and implemented an innovative leadership program for real estate professionals, which now serves as a national model.

"Amanda is a nationally respected leader whose experience, innovation, and track record of execution will serve the city well, especially as we work to improve neighborhoods, increase affordable homeownership, and spur transit-oriented development," said Mayor Andre Dickens. "With her leadership, we will continue to set national standards for how cities can tackle housing affordability with innovation and compassion."

Rhein will start in January 2026, and the Chief Housing Officer and the housing team will report directly to Chief of Staff Courtney English.

Chatiqua Ellison has been appointed Deputy Chief Housing Officer and Senior Advisor to the Mayor on Homelessness.

An Atlanta native, Ellison's deep love for her hometown drives her lifelong commitment to public service and her passion for creating a more equitable and compassionate city. With more than a decade of experience in public service, she has led some of Atlanta's most transformative housing initiatives.

Ellison spearheaded the Forest Cove Relocation, successfully rehousing 193 families from substandard conditions into safe, stable, and dignified homes. She also oversees the Rapid Housing Initiative, which has created more than 300 units toward a goal of 500 quick-delivery homes for Atlanta's unhoused residents. A hallmark of this effort is The Melody, the City's first container home community.

She also led the City's Homelessness Taskforce, helping to develop policies and procedures for safe and coordinated encampment closures, and partnered with Invest Atlanta to launch the City's Grocery Initiative, which expands access to fresh food in low-income communities and supports the opening of The Azalea Market.

A proud graduate of Spelman College, Ellison earned her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, and later obtained a Master of Public Policy in Urban Planning and Policy from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University.

Other Key Appointments

William Tucker has been named permanent Director of the Housing Innovation Lab. Tucker has served with the City of Atlanta since 2021 and has been a part of the Mayor's Office of Policy housing team since its inception in 2023. As Director, he leads a team of policy experts and planners who develop and apply creative tools to promote housing affordability and housing security for Atlanta residents. Tucker holds a Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) from Georgia Tech and a B.A. in History from George Washington University.

Katie Molla will continue in her role as Director of Special Projects, where she supports the City's fresh food access initiatives, downtown homelessness strategies, and Tax Allocation District (TAD) implementation. Molla joined the City in 2023 and previously earned a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University. While in Washington, D.C., she served as a staffer on Senator Jon Ossoff's Judiciary team.
She also holds a Master of Biomedical Science from the University of South Florida and a Bachelor's in Exercise Science from Florida State University.

Colin Delargy, Assistant Director, has been with the Housing Innovation Lab since 2022 and specializes in housing finance, planning, and policy. He holds dual master's degrees in City and Regional Planning and Public Policy from Georgia Tech, and a bachelor's in city and Regional Planning from the Technische Universität Berlin. Delargy has contributed to major initiatives including the Atlanta Urban Development Corporation, the Senior Wills Initiative, and the Single-Family Housing Strategy.

Carolyn Kovar, Assistant Director of Housing Delivery, oversees the development of affordable housing on public land from due diligence and pre-development through community engagement and rezoning. She successfully launched the Common Intake Form, a centralized front door for developers seeking public financing, and coordinates the biweekly housing pipeline review that brings together all public stakeholders.
Before her current role, Kovar managed the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program at Invest Atlanta. She holds a master's in public policy from Georgia State University's Andrew Young School of Policy Studies and completed the Financing and Deploying Clean Energy Program at Yale University.

Matt Delicata, Senior Real Estate Advisor, brings nearly 20 years of experience in both the private and public sectors, focusing on commercial real estate investment and development. Over his career, Delicata has been involved in the development, investment, and asset management of nearly $2 billion in mixed-use, office, and multifamily assets. Most recently, he served as Senior Project Manager at Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., where he helped expand the BeltLine's land holdings and secure property rights for construction completion. Delicata is also a Lecturer at Georgia State University, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in real estate development.

Chanel Ziesel, Director of Housing Policy, will continue in her role as Director of Housing Policy where she has led the administration's work to reduce blight, place-based public safety, and efforts to revitalize downtown Atlanta.

"This team represents the best housing leadership in the country," said Mayor Andre Dickens. "Together, we're not just building housing, we're building pathways to stability, dignity, and opportunity for all Atlantans."

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