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In 2007 Booz Allen Hamilton set out to help small nonprofits in the Washington, D.C. area gain access to expert advice and guidance on management and fundraising that was otherwise unattainable for them due to cost. In the four years since, the Booz Allen Hamilton Nonprofit Development Conference Series has grown exponentially and now successfully serves more than 400 unique nonprofit organizations with top tier guest speakers from around the metropolitan area who provide the sorely needed advice and guidance.
Conference keynote speaker tapped as special adviser in Obama administration
When it was announced yesterday that author and environmental activist Van Jones had been appointed special presidential adviser for green jobs and enterprise and innovation, we immediately thought of the good fortune of the people attending the Boston College Center’s 2009 International Corporate Citizenship Conference in San Francisco because he’s a featured speaker.
Several months ago when we asked Jones to speak, we knew his message was right for the times and that his accomplishments in advancing the emerging green economy are something business leaders need to know about. We never anticipated that Jones’ platform would get even bigger and the need for revitalizing the economy with fresh thinking would become so urgent.
If ever there’s a speaker so right for the times, it’s Van Jones. As the special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation, he will work with the White House Council on Environmental Quality to create jobs and protect the environment. He begins his new job next week.
In a recent speech to the Commonwealth Club, Jones called clean energy “the breakthrough solution” for retooling our ailing industrial sector that will “put the country back to work.” This vision involves retooling the auto makers into producers of industrial wind turbines, smart batteries and solar panels.
Two weeks ago Jones participated in an Economic Stimulus Summit hosted by Vice President Joe Biden and showed a short video produced by his nonprofit Green for All. Take a look at their vision for the new green economy:
In announcing Jones’ appointment, Nancy Sutley, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality said: “Van Jones has been a strong voice for green jobs and we look forward to having him work with departments and agencies to advance the president’s agenda of creating 21st century jobs that improve energy efficiency and utilize renewable resources. Jones will also help to shape and advance the administration’s energy and climate initiatives with a specific interest in improvements and opportunities for vulnerable communities.”
In addition to being founder of Green For All, Jones is a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress. He is also the author of the 2008 New York Times best-seller, “The Green Collar Economy.” Green For All is a U.S. organization that promotes green-collar jobs and opportunities for the disadvantaged. Its mission is to build an inclusive, green economy, strong enough to resolve the ecological crisis and lift millions of people out of poverty.
In 2005, Jones produced the “social equity track” for the United Nations’ World Environment Day 2005 summit, which was themed “Green Cities: Plan for the Planet”. The adoption of these accords marked the beginning of the global movement for “green jobs.” In 2007, he helped the city of Oakland, Calif., pass a “Green Jobs Corps” proposal. The city allocated funds to train Oakland residents in eco-friendly “green collar jobs.”
At the national level, Jones worked successfully in 2007 with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) and U.S. Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) to pass the Green Jobs Act of 2007. That path-breaking, historic legislation authorized $125 million in funding to train 35,000 people a year in “green collar jobs.” In 2008, Green for All partnered with Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection to launch the Green For All Academy.
A 1993 Yale Law School graduate, Jones is a champion for the toughest urban constituencies and causes and has won many honors, including: the 1998 Reebok International Human Rights Award; the International Ashoka Fellowship; selection as a World Economic Forum “Young Global Leader”; the Rockefeller Foundation “Next Generation Leadership” Fellowship; and the Puffin/Nation prize for “Creative Citizenship”.
Among Jones’ recent honors this year: the Elle Magazine Green Award 2008; selection as one of the George Lucas Foundation’s “Daring Dozen 2008″; Hunt Prime Mover Award 2008; Campaign for America’s Future “Paul Wellstone Award 2008″; Global Green USA “Community Environmental Leadership” Award 2008; designation as one of the nation’s “Plenty 20″ in the October/November 2008 edition of Plenty Magazine; San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership Award 2008; selection as a Time magazine 2008 Environmental Hero; and designation as one of Essence Magazine’s 25 most influential/inspiring African-Americans of 2008.
In 1996, Jones co-founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, which advocates for juvenile justice reform, police reform, youth violence prevention and green collar jobs.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Jones co-founded Color Of Change. Boasting 400,000 members, Color of Change has become the nation’s biggest online advocacy organization that focuses on African-American issues.
Learn more about the International Corporate Citizenship Conference, to be held March 29-31 in San Francisco.
