Quilen Blackwell
President and Co-Founder, Chicago Eco House
2020 Chicago Peace Fellow
Quilen Blackwell is president and co-founder of the Chicago Eco House, a nonprofit based in Englewood that has the mission of using sustainability to alleviate poverty. We do this by converting vacant lots into off-grid flower farms that create jobs for at-risk young people. Eco House has four farms around Chicago in the Englewood, West Garfield Park, and Woodlawn neighborhoods, and one farm in Detroit.