Angelou Ezeilo

Angelou Ezeilo
Born	1970 (age 53–54) Jersey City, New Jersey
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Spelman College University of Florida College of Law
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur Acitivst
Known for	Founding the Greening Youth Foundation Ashoka Fellow 2016
Website	www.gyfoundation.org

Angelou Ezeilo (born 1970) is an American social entrepreneur and environmental activist. She is the founder of an international nonprofit, Greening Youth Foundation, that was created to engage underrepresented youth and young adults while connecting them to the outdoors and careers in conservation. She received an Ashoka Fellowship in 2016. She is the author of the book, Engage, Connect, Protect: Empowering Diverse Youth as Environmental Leaders, released in November 2019 by New Society Publishers and co-written by Nick Chiles, her brother.

Early life

Ezeilo was born Angelou Chiles in Jersey City, New Jersey, where she spent the early part of her childhood. Her mother Helen Chiles is a retired nurse. Her father is the pianist Walter Chiles, who was the leader of the jazz trio Chiles & Pettiford in the 1960s and the funk band LTG Exchange in the 1970s.

Ezeilo graduated from Mount St. Mary Academy, a private high school in Watchung, New Jersey. She attended Hunter College in Manhattan, but transferred after freshman year to Spelman College in Atlanta. After graduating from Spelman in 1992, Ezeilo went on to receive her Juris Doctorate in Law from the University of Florida College of Law. At the College of Law, she met fellow law student James Ezeilo, whom she married in 1995.

Career

Ezeilo worked as a project manager for the Trust for Public Land (TPL) in both its New Jersey and Georgia offices. In her position, Ezeilo acquired land for preservation and worked on the New York/New Jersey Highlands Program, Parks for People-Newark, the New York/New Jersey Harbor Program in New Jersey, the Atlanta Beltline, and the 20 County Regional Greenspace Initiative in Georgia. While at TPL, Ezeilo had the idea for the Greening Youth Foundation when she saw the disconnect between land and the next generation.

Greening Youth Foundation

Greening Youth Foundation's vision is to create a new generation of environmental stewards and provide life changing opportunities in conservation and sustainability to under served, underrepresented and diverse youth across the globe. Since launching in 2007, GYF has reached over 25,000 youth and young adults through various environmental, conservation, and sustainability education programs. The organization services the United States and West Africa. In 2015, GYF received the USDA Forest Service Award for Diversity and Inclusiveness.