President's Award
Vann Jones
Van Jones is a globally-recognized, award-winning pioneer in human rights and the clean-energy economy. He is the co-founder of three successful social justice organizations: the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change, and Green For All.
Van is the best-selling author of The Green Collar Economy, the definitive book on "green jobs." He helped to pass the Green Jobs Act, America's first "green job training" legislation. From March to September 2009, he worked as the special advisor for green jobs in the Obama White House.
A 1993 graduate of the Yale Law School, Van is the recipient of many awards and honors. These include the Reebok International Human Rights Award; the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader designation; and the prestigious, international Ashoka Fellowship.
TIME Magazine named Jones one of the 100 most influential people of 2009. That same year, he was included in Ebony¹s "Power 150" list of the most influential African Americans. In 2008, Essence named him one of the 25 most inspiring African Americans.
Today, Van is a senior strategist for Green For All and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. In Fall 2010, he will teach an advanced environmental course at Princeton University.
