We are a speakers bureau dedicated to exceptional customer service. Learn more >

CALL US NOW

1-800-44-SPEAK 1-800-447-7325 1-800-447-7325
  • Home
  • Find a Speaker
  • About
    • Overview
    • Why AEI
    • Our Team
    • Testimonials
    • Industry Terms
  • FAQs
  • Blog
  • Contact
    • Sales & Other Inquiries
    • Speaker Representation

Van Jones

Van Jones is a CNN political contributor, regularly appearing across the network’s programming and special political coverage.

Jones has founded and led numerous social enterprises engaged in social and environmental justice.

These include:

*The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, which promotes criminal justice reform
*Color of Change, which works for racial fairness through its one million members
*Rebuild The Dream, a 21st Century “think tank” that champions innovative solutions to fix the U.S. economy and uplift the next generation.
*The Dream Corps, which promotes innovative policy solutions. The Dream Corps’ major initiatives are: #YesWeCode, committed to helping train 100,000 low-opportunity youth to become top-level computer programmers; #cut50, which is working to cut the U.S. prison population in half in the next 10 years; and Green For All, which lifts people out of poverty through green job training and job creation

Jones is a Yale-educated attorney. He is the author of two New York Times best-selling books, The Green Collar Economy (2008) and Rebuild the Dream (2012). The second book chronicles his journey as an environmental and human rights activist to becoming a White House policy advisor.

He was the main advocate for the Green Jobs Act. Signed into law by George W. Bush in 2007, the Green Jobs Act was the first piece of federal legislation to codify the term “green jobs.” During the Obama Administration, the legislation has resulted in $500 million in national funding for green jobs training.

In 2009, Jones worked as the green jobs advisor to President Barack Obama. In this role, Jones helped to lead the inter-agency process that oversaw the multi-billion dollar investment in skills training and jobs development within the environmental and green energy sectors.

Jones has been honored with numerous awards and spotlighted on several lists of high achievers, including: the World Economic Forum’s “Young Global Leader” designation; Rolling Stone”s 2012 “12 Leaders Who Get Things Done”; TIME’s 2009 “100 Most Influential People in The World”; and the Root’s 2014 “The Root 100.” He is presently a fellow at the MIT Media Lab.

Show More
To inquire about pricing and availability, please complete the form below.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

View Van Jones'

  • topics Topics
  • books Books

Videos

Topics

  • "Green Jobs Not Jails": Criminal Justice + Ecology

    The USA has only five percent of the world's population. Yet we produce: (a) about 25 percent of its greenhouse gasses and (b) about 25 percent of its prisoners. Coincidence? Van Jones doesn't think so. He sees "mass incarceration" and the "mass extinction" as twin outcomes of the same false ideology: disposability. Industrial society behaves as if we have a throwaway planet - and throwaway people, too. To reverse course, Van says we must shrink the prison system and grow the green economy.

  • Rebuild The Dream: The Next American Economy

    Imagine a new economy, where the founding principle of our country- liberty and justice for all-is deeply rooted in our economic philosophy and design, where businesses can profit alongside flourishing communities. The next American economy must value production over consumption, savings over credit and ecological restoration over ecological destruction. To achieve sustained prosperity, we need to transform our ideas and understanding around ownership and wealth-transcending consumerism, transforming corporations, and revitalizing communities.

  • "Beyond Prisons": Don't Criminalize - Humanize

    Civil rights attorney and TV personality Van Jones seeks peaceful streets through approaches that are smarter, fairer and less costly. His organization, Dream Corps Unlimited, houses the Beyond Prisons campaign. That initiative works to safely and smartly reduce the prison population by at least 50 percent - by promoting proven, bipartisan solutions. Neither Democrats nor Republicans see much sense in locking people away for long periods of time, often for petty offenses, and then denying them a chance to work, vote, rent an apartment or get a student loan for the rest of their lives.

  • #YesWeCode: Race, Gender & The Digital Divide

    Former Obama advisor and CNN personality Van Jones created #YesWeCode to find real solutions. Housed at Dream Corps Unlimited, #YesWeCode is working to help 100,000 young adults of color – both women and men - find employment in the technology sector. Learn from the many insights that Van has gleaned by working directly with dozens of major tech firms, the Obama White House, and the nation's top accelerated training programs. Hear how cultural barriers - on both sides of the divide – may be the biggest obstacles to an inclusive tech sector.

  • "Green For All": Can Environmentalism Include Everyone?

    The solar industry is booming. The fight for climate solutions is accelerating. The movement for a greener future is regaining steam. But will this renewed "green wave" lift ALL boats? Or will some places enjoy clean energy, green jobs and organic food, while others fall further behind? How can we avoid "ecological apartheid"? Van Jones has answers. He was the primary advocate for the Green Jobs Act of 2007. He is the founder of Green For All, a national organization working to grow the green economy in communities of color. He wrote the bestseller, The Green-Collar Economy - the definitive book on green jobs. And he was the special advisor on green jobs and innovation to the Obama White House.

  • Election 2016 - Protest & Politics In Age Of Twitter

    Van has unique insight into America's turbulent political scene. He has worked closely with political players at all levels - and across the spectrum. On the left, he has been allied with everyone from Richard Branson to Black Lives Matter. On the right, he has campaigned to win criminal justice reform alongside Newt Gingrich and Koch Industries. George W. Bush signed his first legislative proposal, the Green Jobs Act. Then President Obama appointed him to be special advisor on green jobs. Most recently, Van was "on the ground" in Ferguson, Charleston and Selma (for the 50th anniversary of the historic civil rights march there).

Books

 The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems
The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems

Now revised and updated, Van Jones's provocative and cutting edge New York Times bestseller The Green Collar Economy delivers a viable plan for solving the two biggest issues facing the country today-the economy and the environment.

You can purchase this book here

Rebuild the Dream
Rebuild the Dream

In Rebuild the Dream, green economy pioneer Van Jones reflects on his journey from grassroots outsider to White House insider. For the first time, he shares intimate details of his time in government - and reveals why he chose to resign his post as a special advisor to the Obama White House.

You can purchase this book here

Related Speakers

Winona LaDuke
Ozzie Smith
J.D. Kleinke
Majora Carter
Maddie Rae
Caroline Adams Miller
Daniel Yergin
Niall Ferguson
Erin Moriarty
Lulu Garcia-Navarro
James Orlikoff
Chris Hansen
Gregory Stock
Paul Tukey
Diane Sieg
Brian Unger
Naomi Judd
Evan Thomas
Theresa Behenna
Magic Johnson
Patrick Buchanan
Hill Harper
John Sileo
Holly Robinson Peete

Need Help?

Call us at 617-782-3111 or fill out this form and we will get back to you promptly!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Our Associations

    

Find a Speaker

Contact Info

Address
AEI Speakers Bureau
300 Western Avenue, Suite 2
Allston, MA 02134

Phone
1-800-44-SPEAK
1-617-782-3111

Email
staff@aeispeakers.com

© 2019 American Entertainment International Speakers Bureau, Inc. Privacy Policy
Top