This is part of the Wrigley Lecture Series, sponsored by Julie A. Wrigley and ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability.

Our country is struggling in the face of an economic recession and ecological crisis. We need 9 million new jobs in the U.S., and they must be 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 advisor in the Obama White House in 2009.