Andre Dickens

Dickens was born in 1974, in Atlanta. He was raised by his mother, Sylvia Dickens, and stepfather, who adopted him and his two siblings at the age of 7. He and his stepfather often bonded over taking things apart and rebuilding them, which birthed Dickens' passion for engineering.

He grew up in Southwest Atlanta, and attended Benjamin Elijah Mays High School, before enrolling at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he received his degree in chemical engineering in 1998. Dickens received his Master's of Public Administration in Economic Development from Georgia State University.

While enrolled at Georgia Tech, Dickens began his professional career in 1994 as a part-time chemical engineer for BP-Amoco. Immediately after getting his degree, the position became full-time. In 1999, he was a sales engineer at DSM Engineering and Plastics. He was named the first Black salesman of the year.

At age 28, Dickens and his older sister co-founded City-Living Home Furnishing. The furnishing company was in existence from 2002 to 2011, and became a multi-million dollar business in only two locations. However, due to the housing crisis, Dickens was unable to keep the company alive; in 2010 he filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy.

In 2013, Dickens was elected as an at-large city council member. From 2014 to 2021, he mainly advocated for the improvement of Atlanta's public safety, the need for affordable housing, having programs for citizens, and creating more opportunities to students in Atlanta's Public School system. One of his most important contributions while on the city council was sponsoring legislation that made the minimum wage for city employees fifteen dollars an hour. In addition to changing the minimum wage he created the Department of Transportation, the BeltLine Inclusionary Zoning which increased affordable housing in the area, and the Atlanta Youth Commission.

Dickens lives in the Historic Collier Heights neighborhood in northwest Atlanta. He has a daughter.

He is a Brother of Kappa Alpha Psi, having pledged when he attended Georgia Tech.