Meek Mill's REFORM Announces New CEO As Van Jones Gets Promoted

BYAron A.Updated on September 26, 20223.5K Views

Van Jones will be taking on a new role as a full-time member of the Executive Board and co-chair of the REFORM Action Fund.

Meek Mill and Michael Rubin's REFORM Alliance have been doing some great work in the past few years. With Van Jones serving as the founding CEO, they've made some major progress in criminal justice reform across many states including California's AB 1950 that's meant to decrease probation and prison admissions over technical violations.

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After much success in their fight against systemic injustice, REFORM Alliance announced that a new CEO will be taking Van Jones's role as he elevates to a full-time member of the Executive Board. Robert Rooks will be coming on board as the new CEO. Rooks was formerly the co-founder and CEO of Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) where he helped with reform initiatives to decrease over-incarceration.

"Robert is a game-changing hire for our organization,” said REFORM co-chairs Meek Mill and Michael Rubin in a statement. “He has a proven track record of changing laws and is universally-respected by leaders on both sides of the political spectrum. We’re incredibly grateful for Van’s leadership in laying the groundwork for REFORM and spearheading our first round of legislative victories. We’re thrilled for Van to join the Executive Board where he will continue to help build the organization.”

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Rooks will take on the role on March 1st, 2021. Van Jones will then take on the role as a full-time member of the Executive Board and co-chair of the REFORM Action Fund. "Rooks is going to put a rocket booster under everything we have done so far. He knows how to build, he knows how to lead and he knows how to win. I am very proud to join the REFORM board, where I will be supporting him and the whole REFORM team to take everything to the next level," added Jones.

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Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.