Charles Camillo is the Executive Director of the Mississippi River Commission and Executive Assistant for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division.
Camillo is a native of Missouri. He graduated in 1991 from Millikin University with a bachelor’s degree in history and received a master’s degree in history from Illinois State University in 1992. He began his career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District, in 1993 as a researcher tasked with documenting potential chemical warfare materials and unexploded munitions contamination at former military installations in the United States. He came to work for the Mississippi River Commission/Mississippi Valley Division in 2001, serving as historian and deputy executive director, until he was selected to his current position in 2015.
Camillo has authored Protecting the Alluvial Empire: The Mississippi River and Tributaries Project, published in 2013; Divine Providence: The 2011 Flood in the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project, published in 2012; and co-authored Upon Their Shoulders: A History of the Mississippi River Commission, published in 2004.
His career accomplishments also include the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service in 2005 for exceptionally meritorious service as the Deputy Operations Officer for Task Force Hope during the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; the Superior Civilian Service Award in 2007 for his work as a member of the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force established to assess the hurricane protection project following hurricanes Katrina and Rita; the 2011 Professional of the Year for the Mississippi Valley Division; and a second Superior Civilian Service Award in 2012 for his efforts in during and after the 2011 flood on the lower Mississippi River. He also received a written commendation in 1994 for demonstrating exceptional dedication to duty under extremely hazardous conditions during site inspections of Gerstle River and Adak Island, Alaska.
The Mississippi Valley Division is responsible for water resources engineering solutions in a 370,000-square-mile area, extending from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and encompassing portions of 12 states. Work is carried out by district offices located in St. Paul, Minn.; Rock Island, Ill.; St. Louis, Mo.; Memphis, Tenn.; Vicksburg, Miss.; and New Orleans, La.
Since 1879, the seven-member presidentially appointed Mississippi River Commission has developed and matured plans for the general improvement of the Mississippi River from the Head of Passes to the Headwaters. The Mississippi River Commission brings critical engineering representation to the drainage basin, which impacts 41% of the United States and includes 1.25 million square miles, over 250 tributaries, 31 states and two Canadian provinces.