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Trying to Be Purple

A Conversation with Van Jones

Van Jones is a well-known U.S. media personality who has founded and led many social enterprises, including the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change, and the Dream Corps. He sat down with Chanda to talk about his relationship with Prince, how he uses his voice for good, and why the broader community should care about criminal justice reform.

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About Our Guest

Van Jones

Van Jones is the CEO of REFORM, a CNN political contributor, and host of the Redemption Project and The Van Jones Show. He has been a leader in the fight for criminal justice reform for more than 25 years. Van has founded and led many thriving social enterprises, including the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change, and the Dream Corps – a social justice accelerator that houses #YesWeCode, #GreenForAll, and #cut50.

Van has authored three New York Times bestselling books: “The Green Collar Economy” (2008), “Rebuild the Dream” (2012), and “Beyond the Messy Truth” (2017). In 2009, he worked as the Green Jobs Advisor to the Obama White House, where he oversaw an $80 billion investment in training and jobs development within the environmental and green energy sectors.