Quilen Blackwell

Quilen Blackwell founded Southside Blooms in 2015, transforming vacant lots on Chicago's South Side into eco-friendly flower farms that grow, arrange, and sell flowers through a nonprofit shop. The organization employs 25 young people, primarily between the ages of 16 and 25, giving at-risk youth in Englewood a living-wage job and life skills. Blackwell was named the 2025 CNN Hero of the Year at the 19th Annual CNN Heroes ceremony, receiving $100,000 in prize money plus an additional $50,000 from the Elevate Prize Foundation, which also provided organizational capacity-building support. He plans to open a second location and expand Southside Blooms nationally.