Van Jones to Speak on Inequality and the Environment Sept. 28

Media contact: Noelle Lemoine, communications assistant; tele: (413) 597-4277; email: [email protected]

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., September 19, 2016 – Political activist, commentator, author, and attorney Van Jones will present “Green Jobs Not Jails” as the second talk for the Class of ’71 Public Affairs Forum on Inequality on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 7:30 p.m. on the MainStage of the ’62 Center at Williams College. A reception will follow the talk which is part of the year’s Confronting Climate Change Initiative. The talk is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Please reserve online at http://62center.williams.edu/box-office/ or call the box office Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m., or call 413-597-2425.

Jones was the main advocate for the Green Jobs Act of 2007, which gave $125 million in funding to establish training programs to address job shortages impairing growth in the environmental sector. Today, the funding has reached $500 million. In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Jones as his green jobs advisor, where Jones helped to lead the interagency process that oversaw the multi-billion-dollar investment in skills training and jobs development for green energy industries. Jones is currently a political contributor for CNN, contributing to segments on a wide range of topics including Obama’s administration, Supreme Court decisions, Ferguson protests, and the 2016 Republican primary.

He has written two New York Times best-selling books: The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems (HarperOne, 2009) and Rebuild the Dream (Nation Books, 2012). Jones’ awards and honors include the 2008 Global Green USA “Community Environmental Leadership” Award, the 2009 Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award, the 2010 NCAAP President’s Award, and Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2009.

After graduating from Yale Law School in 1993, Jones moved to San Francisco to pursue a career in activism. He is a cofounder of several non-profit organizations engaged in social and environmental justice, including the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change, Rebuild the Dream and the Dream Corps, of which he is the current president.

Part of a year-long series of events focused on Confronting Climate Change, this event is co-sponsored by the Class of ’71 Public Affairs Forum, the Lecture Committee, the Center for Environmental Studies, Africana Studies, and Leadership Studies.

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Published September 19, 2016