Van Jones is a globally recognized, award-winning pioneer in human rights and the clean energy economy. He is a 1993 graduate of the Yale Law School and an attorney.
Nobel Prizewinner Vice President Al Gore told the New Yorker “I love Van Jones. I love his work. I love his heart and his commitment and his intellect. I love his mission. He has wisely picked a part of this set of interwoven challenges that should have been addressed much more forcefully by me and others long ago.”
Van wrote the definitive book on "green jobs": The Green Collar Economy. In 2008, his book became an instant New York Times bestseller. It has been translated into six languages.
As a tireless advocate for disadvantaged people and the environment, Van helped to pass America's first "green job training" legislation: the Green Jobs Act, which George W. Bush signed into law as a part of the 2007 Energy Bill.
He is the co-founder of a number of successful non-profit organizations, including the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Green For All.
Van is the recipient of many awards and honors, including: the Reebok International Human Rights Award; the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader designation; the prestigious, international Ashoka Fellowship; and many more.
Van was included in the Ebony Magazine "Power 150" list of most influential African Americans for 2009. In 2008, Essence magazine named him one of the 25 most inspiring/influential African Americans. TIME Magazine named him an environmental hero in 2008. In 2009, TIME named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
In March 2009, Van went to work as the special advisor for green jobs at the White House Council for Environmental Quality.
But Jones is Black.
Faux propagandist Glen Beck, whose own "accomplishments" are questionable, conducted a hate campaign against Jones.
Rather than allow the tiny but vocal rightwing teabagger movement to use his position as a distraction form the vital business of the nation, Van did the right thing.
Just after midnight on Saturday, Van Jones resigned.
"On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me," Jones writes. "They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide."
Jones had been inundated with calls from across the political spectrum urging him to stay and fight.
Jones says "I came here to fight for others, not for myself. I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past. We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future."