Van Jones is working to combine solutions to America's two biggest problems:
social inequality and environmental destruction.
Van Jones is the founder and president Green For All, based in Oakland,
California. The mission is to help build an inclusive, green economy - strong
enough to lift millions of people out of poverty. Van is a tireless advocate,
championing "green-collar jobs and opportunities" for disadvantaged people. He
is committed to creating "green pathways out of poverty," while greatly
expanding the coalition fighting global warming.
Van has worked to combine solutions to America's two biggest problems: social
inequality and environmental destruction. Under the slogan "green-collar jobs,
not jails," he is calling for green economic development in urban America.
As an advocate for the toughest urban constituencies and causes, he has won
many honors. These include the 1998 Reebok International Human Rights Award,
the international Ashoka Fellowship, selection as a World Economic Forum "Young
Global Leader," and the Rockefeller Foundation "Next Generation Leadership"
Fellowship.
Van has served on the boards of numerous national environmental organizations.
Presently, he is a board member of the National Apollo Alliance, which
advocates for clean energy jobs. He is also a founding board member of 1Sky, a
national coalition working to avert catastrophic climate change.
In 2007, Van helped the City of Oakland pass a "Green Jobs Corps" proposal; the
City allocated funds to train Oakland residents in eco-friendly "green-collar
jobs."
At the national level, Van worked successfully in 2007 with U.S. House of
Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA), U.S.
Rep. John Tierney (D-MASS) to pass the Green Jobs Act of 2007. That
path-breaking, historic legislation authorized $125 million in funding to train
35,000 people a year in "green-collar jobs."
Van is also a co-founder of a new national coalition that promotes the idea of
a national "Clean Energy Jobs Corps." This multi-billion-dollar federal
initiative would put hundreds of thousands of people to work rewiring and
retrofitting the energy infrastructure of the United States.
In 2005, Van produced the "Social Equity Track" for the United Nations' World
Environment Day celebration. UNWED 2005 drew dozens of mayors from around the
world to San Francisco, where they developed policies promoting the concept of
"Green Cities."
In 1996, Van co-founded (with Diana Frappier) the Ella Baker Center for Human
Rights, now located in Oakland, California. Named for an unsung civil rights
heroine, the award-winning Center promotes alternatives to violence and
incarceration. The Center, for which Van serves as board president, incubated
Green For All in 2007 and spun it off in 2008.
A 1993 Yale Law graduate, Van is also a husband and father. He is proud to
champion some of the most hopeful solutions to America's toughest challenges.
