Just five days after completing his undergraduate studies at Wingate University, Dustin started his first job with a small affordable housing developer. "It's hard to find a development job after graduating from college without having any industry relevant experience. I took the first one I could find, and it happened to be with a small developer that worked with tax credits. I didn't even know what they were when I first started working there." Little did Dustin know, his first job out of college would begin his 22-year long career in the affordable housing industry - and counting.

 

During his journey, Dustin formed a strategic partnership with Tom Taft, Sr., a Greenville, NC, based developer, to form the Taft-Mills Group. For over five years now, they have developed, constructed, and managed affordable rental housing that blends seamlessly into the communities in which they are located. "I'm so proud to be part of a team that delivers affordable housing with such a high level of quality that people can't distinguish it from market-rate housing. At the end of each day, I can go home knowing that people are being positively impacted by the work we're doing. It's inspiring to me."