On May 9, Van Jones, founder of Green for All and author of The Green Collar Economy, joined the Obama Administration as Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the Council on Environmental Quality. In the White House press release, CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley explained that, in addition to helping shape the Administration's policy and efforts in creating green jobs, 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."

Last year Time Magazine named Jones as a "hero of the environment." The Time article pointed out that "in the past, environmentalism in the U.S. has been a mainly white and white-collar phenomenon, one that had little resonance among the working class and minorities." Jones however points out that "we can beat pollution and poverty at the same time."