Van Jones

Profile Overview

Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones (born September 20, 1968) is an American political analyst, media personality, lawyer, author, serial entrepreneur and civil rights advocate. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author, a CNN host and contributor, and an Emmy Award winner.
Jones served as President Barack Obama's Special Advisor for Green Jobs in 2009 and was appointed as a distinguished visiting fellow at Princeton University in 2010. He founded or co-founded several non-profit organizations, including the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change, the Dream Machine Innovation Labs, and the Dream.Org (formerly known as The Dream Corps). It is a social justice accelerator that operates three advocacy initiatives: Justice for All, Tech for All and Green for All. Jones is also the co-founder of Magic Labs Media, a producer of the WEBBY Award-winning The Messy Truth digital series and Emmy Award-winning The Messy Truth VR Experience with Van Jones.
Jones has hosted or co-hosted CNN shows including Crossfire, The Messy Truth, The Van Jones Show and The Redemption Project with Van Jones. He is the author of The Green Collar Economy and a regular CNN political commentator.
Jones was formerly CEO of the REFORM Alliance, an initiative founded by Jay-Z and Meek Mill to transform the criminal justice system. He was also a longtime colleague of, and advisor to, musician Prince.