Charleston Housing Authority CEO announces retirement

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After nearly 47 years of public service, Donald Cameron is stepping down as president and CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Charleston.

He will retire in December and serve in an advisory capacity through 2022, according to a news release. COO Arthur Milligan will succeed Cameron as CEO after receiving unanimous board approval.

Cameron has served as CEO since 1980, five years after he joined the Authority. Under his leadership, the organization underwent a top-to-bottom restructuring, added thousands of residential units for low-income residents and placed a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places, the release said.

Housing Authority Board Chair Edward Kronsberg said Cameron dedicated his life to the Authority and transformed citizens of low and moderate income.

“The Housing Authority, its residents and staff, as well as the city and all its citizens, have been fortunate to have benefited from the unselfish brilliance of Don Cameron,” he said. “He will be missed, but Don has left us in very competent and well-trained hands.”    

Milligan, who joined the Authority in April 2021, is known for bringing positive change to the region and for his personal outreach to residents of the Housing Authority, the release said.

“With our new chief operating officer and director of development, we are in a good place to step up our current efforts like RAD, but those two positions are also key to the future of the Authority," said Cameron. "I chose to retire now because we have the right people in place to continue our mission."

Milligan is a Goose Creek native and a graduate of The Citadel. He has previously served in leadership roles in Rocky Mount and Winston-Salem, N.C., Tampa, Fla., and New Orleans, as well as leading private sector businesses.  

Milligan said he’s honored to build upon Cameron’s legacy in advancing the organization’s mission of providing decent, safe, sanitary and affordable housing to Charleston citizens of both low and moderate incomes.

“These are very big shoes to fill, but with the ongoing counsel of Don and our Board of Commissioners, I’m excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for our organization as we continue to serve our community,” he said.

The Housing Authority of the City of Charleston was established in 1935. The organization has 107 employees serving 1,407 public housing households located throughout Charleston and more than 1,590 Housing Choice Voucher Program participants living in private accommodations.