Eddie Koen

A Chicago native with roots in Alabama, Eddie has a passion for education, equity, and criminal justice reform. Before his arrival at IEL, Eddie served as the President and Chief Executive Officer for the Urban League of Greater Southwest Ohio (ULGSO), one of the largest Urban League affiliates in the country serving Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Dayton, Ohio. ULGSO secured at least one job per day in the region and served 1600 black, brown, & women-owned businesses a year with total revenues of over seven billion and 60 thousand employees. After securing the most significant programmatic personal gift of $1M, the center expanded to education advocacy and health equity work. Prior to that, he served as the Chief Impact Officer for Mile High United Way, where he directed $18 million in investment strategies and programming, shifting the work towards neighborhood needs.