Former White House adviser to discuss 'green jobs'

Van Jones, former adviser with the White House Council on Environmental Quality, will speak today, on the Tempe campus, as part of the ASU Global Institute of Sustainability's signature Wrigley Lecture Series. Jones, a senior fellow of the Center for American Progress and a distinguished visiting fellow at Princeton University, will present “Beyond Green Jobs: The Next American Economy.”

In this speech, Jones will argue that our country, struggling in the face of an economic recession and ecological crisis, needs 9 million new jobs that can support families and do no harm to the environment: “America needs her best minds generating smart and innovative ideas to create more jobs.”

Named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2009, Van Jones is a globally recognized pioneer in human rights and the clean energy economy. He co-founded three successful nonprofit organizations, is the best-selling author of The Green-Collar Economy, and served as the green jobs adviser in the Obama White House in 2009.

The event will take place at 5 p.m., on ASU's Student Services Lawn and Amphitheater, on the Tempe campus, and is free and open to the public. Paid parking ($2 per hour) is available at Apache Boulevard Parking Structure (NE Corner of Apache & College).

Jones agreed to provide his lecture at the invitation of the ASU Undergraduate Student Government, the co-sponsor of the event. The group often hosts speakers with diverse backgrounds and interests in an effort to advance dialogues about pressing issues and topics. There are no public funds supporting this event.