Van Jones (born 1968) is a civil rights and environmental advocate in Oakland, California, working to combine solutions to social inequality and environmental justice. Jones is the president and founder of Green for all, a national organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. Green for all grew out of Jones' work creating a 'Green Job Corp' in Oakland, California, as part of a program at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. 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."
Jones has served on the boards of numerous environmental and nonprofit organizations, including the National Apollo Alliance, Social Venture Network, Rainforest Action Network, Bioneers Julia Butterfly Hill’s "Circle of Life" organization and Free Press. He is also a Senior Fellow with Center for American Progress and a Fellow at IONS (Institute of Noetic Sciences).
Jones currently focuses on green economic development for urban America. In 2007, the City of Oakland adopted the Ella Baker Center's "Green Jobs Corps" proposal, which provides $250,000 to train youth for eco-friendly “green-collar jobs.” Jones was also instrumental in helping to get the Green Jobs Act of 2007 passed, which authorizes $125 million to train workers for green collar jobs.