On April 14, CNN political correspondent, bestselling author and former White House policy advisor Van Jones paid a visit to DU. Jones spent the day speaking with classes and on-campus organizations before attending a question and answer session with students and delivering a lecture as part of the College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Distinguished Speakers Series that evening.

Jones was born in rural Tennessee, then attended the University of Tennessee as an undergraduate student. He went on to study law at Yale University, and later became a lawyer specializing in civil rights and environmental activism. He published the first of his two books, The Green Collar Economy, in 2008, which became and instant bestseller and led him to become a visible public figure, something Jones says is crucial to success in the media world.

He also worked as an advocate for the Green Jobs Act during the Bush administration, and then became the green jobs advisor to the Obama Administration in 2009. In 2013 he became the co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire,” and still works with CNN regularly as a political contributor.

The question and answer session took place at 4 p.m. in Sturm Hall and was also organized by the College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences. About 25 students attended at the event, which gave students the opportunity to ask questions of Jones about his career, personal growth and political activism.

Many of the students’ questions centered on Jones’ work as an advocate for social and environmental justice. Jones is the founder of five separate not-for-profit organizations, including Dream Corps, Green For All, Rebuild the Dream, Color of Change and The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. These organizations focus on issues ranging from environmental health to opportunities for youth, but each addresses inequality in some way.

Within the discussion, Jones focused mainly on Dream Corps, which he called an organization dedicated to “closing prison doors and opening doors of opportunity into a green economy.” Two of the organization’s main initiatives are #Cut50, which aims to reduce the US prison population by 50 percent in ten years, and #YesWeCode, which helps low-opportunity youth gain the skills to become computer programmers.

“We don’t do anything at the DreamCorps if we don’t think it’s going to change the world, if it’s not numerically measurable or spiritually inspirational,” said Jones.

Throughout the question and answer session, Jones also discussed environmental inequality, his own personal evolution and the experience of working in Washington D.C. One common thread throughout the event was the idea of determination even in the face of failure.

“If you believe something is wrong, do something about it,” said Jones. “Even if it’s hard. Even if your best friend says it’s crazy.”

At 7 p.m. Jones delivered a lecture in Sturm Hall’s Davis Auditorium entitled “American Dream 2.0: Creating an Economy That Works for Everyone,” which focused on the merging of community and capitalism. According to the Distinguished Speakers Series website, the lecture was sold-out.