Voted as one of ESSENCE’s “Most Influential People” of 2008, environmentalist Van Jones is now the special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation in the Obama administration, according to the Associated Press. Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said in a press release on Monday that Jones will head to work next week to help direct the administration’s efforts to create jobs and help the environment. The Yale graduate is founder of “Green For All,” a national organization dedicated to promoting an inclusive economy to help get people out of poverty. He recently penned the New York Times best-seller, “The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems.”—JW