Environmental activist Van Jones to speak Oct. 18 at Mahar

Van Jones, a prominent environmental advocate, civil rights activist and a former green jobs advisor to President Barack Obama, will speak on Thursday, Oct. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in Mahar Auditorium and sign copies of his new book, Rebuild the Dream.

 

The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required for this limited seating event.

 

Jones was instrumental in passage of the Green Jobs Act signed by President George W. Bush in 2007, and was appointed in 2009 as green jobs advisor to the White House by Obama. While there, he helped to oversee $80 billion in green energy recovery spending. He is currently the president and co-founder of Rebuild the Dream, a platform for bottom-up, people-powered innovations to help fix the U.S. economy, and was recently named one of “12 Leaders Who Get Things Done” by Rolling Stone. 

 

Jones’ visit was initiated by Andrea Kandel, an alumna who now directs the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) of Windsor, Conn., a nonprofit that fights bias, bigotry and racism in the U.S. Kandel says, “NCCJ has long wanted to bring Van Jones to this area. His ability to energize young people around issues of social justice is incredible.”

 

Ezra Small, director of the Campus Sustainability Initiative and another organizer of the event, says Jones is “a globally recognized pioneer when it comes to a clean energy economy. I’m excited that the Five College community will have the chance to hear him speak.”

 

Other co-sponsors of the talk are the departments of Economics and Political Science, Labor Relations and Research Center, Political Economy Research Institute, Social Thought and Political Economy Program, Workplace Learning and Development, Center for Public Policy and Administration, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College and Five Colleges, Inc.