Van Jones
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Van Jones (1968-) is a civil rights and human rights advocate in Oakland, CA working to combine solutions to both social inequality and environmental destruction. He is an attorney as well as the founder and executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.
Jones founded the Ella Baker Center in 1996. Named for an unsung civil rights heroine, the Center "promotes alternatives to violence and incarceration". As an advocate for the toughest urban constituencies and causes, Van 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.
Jones has also served on the boards of numerous environmental organizations, including the National Apollo Alliance, Social Ventures Network, Rainforest Action Network, Bioneers and Julia Butterfly Hill’s "Circle of Life" organization.
Jones is currently calling for green economic development for urban America. The City of Oakland has adopted the Ella Baker Center's "Green Jobs Corps" proposal, which will train youth for eco-friendly “green-collar jobs.” Now Jones is pushing to create the first-ever "Green Enterprise Zone", to attract environmentally-sound industry to Oakland.
A 1993 Yale Law graduate, Jones is also a husband and father.