NAACP President and CEO Ben Jealous received two honors recently as he was named one of Time magazine’s “40 Under 40 Rising Stars of U.S. Politics” and one of the “Top 50 people of Power and Influence” by The NonProfit Times.
“The NAACP congratulates President Benjamin Todd Jealous on making the Time magazine ‘40 Under 40’ and The NonProfit Times’ ‘Power and Influence Top 50’ lists,” NAACP Board of Directors Chairman Roslyn Brock said in a statement. “In a little over two years, President Jealous has led the Association in tackling some of the hardest issues facing the American public, including healthcare reform, the financial crisis and predatory lending. His hard work and commitment to justice allows the Association to continue in the struggle for better jobs, education and equality for all Americans.”
Jealous was included in the first group of rising political stars ever singled out by Time in a feature to be published in the issue dated Oct. 23.
In August, he was named, along with AARP CEO Barry Rand, among the 50 most powerful and influential leaders in the non-profit arena
Public service has been at the center of Jealous’ life since early adulthood. As a Columbia University student and community organizer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, he helped organize boycotts and pickets for homeless rights, a campaign to save financial aid programs, and led a battle over environmental issues against the university.
His activism triggered a suspension from Columbia. He was re-admitted and later won a Rhodes Scholarship but during the time away from Columbia, he was an activist in Mississippi, where he was at the heart of a fight to protect the continued existence of two of the state’s three public HBCU’s and helped expose corruption at the state prison in Parchman.
He is on the board of directors of the California Council for the Humanities, the Association of Black Foundation Executives and the Asia Society.