Van Jones leaped onto the national political scene when he was chosen as President Barack Obama's "green-jobs czar." When GOP critics revealed Jones' past controversial positions, though, he resigned. Still, he has continued his work to unite middle-class Americans. This July Jones, who is also a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, launched the American Dream Movement, a progressive counter to the Tea Party. The serial activist also co-founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, ColorOfChange and Green for All. A "Take Back the American Dream" conference will be held Oct. 3-5 in Washington, D.C.

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