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 social inequality and environmental destruction. He is the co-founder and executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, which now employs 24 staff members, including several attorneys and a Yale MBA.

Jones founded the Ella Baker Center in 1996. Named for the civil rights and human rights heroine Ella Baker, the Center challenges human rights abuses in the United States criminal justice system and "promotes alternatives to violence and incarceration".

In 1997, a Jones-led campaign helped convince the San Francisco Police Commission to fire controversial police officer, Marc Andaya. From 2001-2003, Jones played a key role in blocking the construction of a proposed "Super-Jail for Youth" in Alameda County.

Jones won his first major award in 1998 when he was given the Reebok International Human Rights Award. Other significant awards include the international Ashoka Fellowship, selection as a World Economic Forum "Young Global Leader," and the Rockefeller Foundation "Next Generation Leadership" Fellowship.

Jones has served on the boards of numerous environmental organizations, including the National Apollo Alliance, Social Venture Network, Rainforest Action Network, Bioneers and Julia Butterfly Hill’s "Circle of Life" organization.

Jones currently focuses on green economic development for urban America. The City of Oakland is expected to adopt the Ella Baker Center's "Green Jobs Corps" proposal this year, which aims to train youth for eco-friendly “green-collar jobs.” Now Jones is pushing to create the first-ever "Green Enterprise Zone" and attract environmentally-sound industry to Oakland.

A 1993 Yale Law graduate, Jones is also a husband and father.