WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today the Center for American Progress announced that Van Jones is rejoining the center as a Senior Fellow and leader of the Green Opportunity Initiative, a new CAP project.
"We are thrilled that Van Jones is joining us to spearhead a ‘green opportunity’ agenda to develop the policies and strategies that will ensure the clean-energy future brings not just climate stability and energy security, but also broadly shared economic prosperity," said Kate Gordon, Vice President for Energy Policy at CAP.
In this role, he will work in close coordination with CAP’s existing Energy Opportunity team to develop a clearly articulated agenda for expanding investment, innovation, and opportunity through clean energy and environmental restoration⎯especially for low-income and minority communities. Van will guide CAP in its efforts to advocate for rebuilding the American economy and creating millions of jobs through new investments in clean-energy technologies.
"Van is a pioneer in the effort to promote a clean, sustainable economy that works for all Americans," said John Podesta, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress. "I’m proud that he’s coming back to CAP to focus on creating economic opportunity in distressed communities through the Green Opportunity Initiative and that he will be giving voice to those issues once again."
From March to September 2009, Van worked as the special advisor for green jobs at the White House Council for Environmental Quality. In that position, he developed policy recommendations to help implement the Obama administration’s commitment to clean-energy jobs and pioneered the administration’s policy approach to making America’s homes more energy efficient. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Green-Collar Economy, the definitive book on green jobs. Van is also the founder of Green For All, the national organization working to get green jobs to disadvantaged communities.
Van was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2009. He received his bachelor of science degree from The University of Tennessee at Martin in 1990, and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1993.
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